The Master and the Rogue
by Kei Taiho
Summary: A beautiful fiery sorceress, a godly sexy Master, a dark handsome Rogue, and a discovery that could save lives or wipe out the entire race of Mankind...Welcome to a world of danger and romance...SessKag
1. He WHAT!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story. The right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Although, this story is mine and mine only.

I hope you enjoy!

**I.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

_She ran as quickly as she could. Her heavy breathing echoed loudly in her ears as another howl broke through the night. Fumbling for her gun, she noticed with horror that it was not in its holster. _

_Running and running, she felt a hot breath on the side of her throat. Stumbling, she dropped and rolled, barely missing the claws that sliced the space she had occupied. Crimson eyes glared viciously at her, fangs and claws dripping with venom as he stalked steadily towards her._

_She gulped and tried to control her breathing as she slowly backed away from the beast, aware that if she moved suddenly, he would kill her within a heartbeat. _

_The beast growled and crouched…She stiffened and froze…He pounced—_

Kagome suddenly awoke, her right hand reaching up to grab her gun, an Exo 6.0, from her holster that hung from her bedpost.

Scanning the dark room with blue-green eyes, Kagome focused in on the glass doors that led to the balcony. A shadow moved and a hand slowly slid the glass doors open.

Subtly and cautiously, the young woman shifted her right hand and pointed the gun steadily at the shadow as it inched the doors open.

Just as she was about to shoot, a familiar soft voice said, "Kagome, it's me, Sango. Don't shoot."

The said woman eased herself into the room as she wearily watched her friend lower the weapon.

"What's wrong, Sango? Why are you here at—," here she paused as she glanced at her alarm clock before continuing, "three in the morning?"

"The Rogue is on his way over here."

"Shit!" Kagome hissed.

"You got that right. I suggest you start packing and head down to the base."

Kagome leapt out of bed and ran swiftly to her closet, pulling out two bags to fling onto her rumpled bed. Going to her wardrobe, she grabbed handfuls of clothing and stuffed it quickly into the first bag. Zipping it closed, she tossed the bag to Sango who caught it deftly.

"What's the second bag for?"

"Weapons."

Kagome crouched down by her bed and reached under the covers to pull a box out. Taking out a fully loaded Matrix 4.0, four sets of razor-sharp daggers, and five boxes of ammunition, she stuffed the second bag full. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she grabbed the car keys from the table beside her bed.

"Let's go."

Five minutes later, a silver mustang convertible could be seen racing through the streets.

"How did the Rogue get out of his prison? Why isn't the Master keeping the Rogue under control?

"The Master is gone."

"WHAT!"

Sango gulped as Kagome swerved around a sharp corner. "He was just gone."

"How'd the hell did he get past the security guards set around the perimeter of the city!" Kagome yelled. "How did he fuckin' get away from under our noses!"

"We don't know. We're still trying to figure it out."

"Who were on duty when he was discovered missing?"

"Kanna and Kagura."

Kagome made a face of disgust. "No wonder he got away. Those girls would fall for his charms in three seconds flat."

"Actually, it took only two seconds," Sango corrected.

Kagome sighed. "Why wasn't there anyone else assigned with them?"

"There was. Inuyasha and Miroku were supposed to be with them."

"'Supposed to be?'" Kagome raised an elegant brow.

Her friend winced. "Let's just say they were both found with lipstick smeared over their faces."

"WHAT!" Kagome roared and pressed down on the gas pedal, increasing the speed from 100km/h to 150km/h.

"Kagome!" Sango squeaked. "You're speeding!"

"I don't care!" Kagome cried. "Those men were with fucking prostitutes when they were on duty!" She screamed in fury. "Are they fucking IDIOTS!"

"Kagome! Please! Slow down!" Sango yelped as her friend swerved around another sharp corner. "Please, Kagome!"

The young woman took a deep breath and slowly eased the pressure off the gas pedal. "I'm sorry, Sango. It's just that—," she sighed. "With the Master gone and the Rogue on the loose, the Feds will be on us like a pack of wolves."

"Don't worry, Kagome," Sango patted her friend on the shoulder reassuringly. "It'll work out okay…" she trailed off.

Kagome gave an eerily empty and humourless laugh. "If we're lucky and alive."

ooo0ooo

By the time the girls arrived at the base, Kagome was calm. Too calm. It was the calm before a great raging storm was to begin.

Striding briskly through the automatic bullet-proof glass doors with a nervous Sango, Kagome nodded curtly at the woman who glanced up from her desk the moment she walked in.

"Ayame," she greeted her with a tight-lipped smile. "Please have Inuyasha, Miroku, Kanna, and Kagura in my office at 16:00 sharp." She turned before glancing back with a malicious glint in her eyes. "Oh, please also inform them that if they are late by even a second, they will face harsher consequences and tripled punishment."

Ayame hid a grin. '_Boy, those four are in deep shit,_' she thought. Out loud she said, "Yes, right away, ma'am."

With another nod, Kagome turned and walked down a brightly lit corridor, Sango at her heels. This large building was an insurance company called Elantris; however, it was, in fact, only a fraud cover-up for the top secret lap deep underground. The Genetic Research Facility—GRF for short—dealt with the research for the good of Mankind.

In every cell of the human body, the DNA is the superior of all. It oversees the health and reproduction of cell and also is responsible for the functions of the cell. This, in return, enables the human body to move, eat, sleep, talk, a.k.a. live.

Five years ago, from some mysterious source, an unknown plague had swept around the world, infecting countless humans. Most were able to overcome the illness, but some were not as lucky. The symptoms were not as serious at first. Mostly it started out with a cold, but as the plague progressed, the symptoms became highly recognizable such as high temperature fevers and the disability to function lungs properly.

The fortunate ones usually pull out from the first stage of the plague with minor health problems. The ones not as fortunate progress to the second stage where some vital organs fail to function causing starvation, suffocation, and the inability to dispose wastes from the body. Although some do pull out from this stage, it was very rare. The last stage of this unknown plague is the one that humans had yet to survive from. This stage is where the brain shuts down and the heart fails to beat.

The scientists have named this plague Malady. All around the world, these intelligent groups of people have tried fruitlessly to find the cure—a vaccine—for Malady. Even NASA, whose specialty was space, had stopped all launches to fund for the research worldwide.

Although people around the world were working together, not one has been able to find the cure. That is, except the Genetic Research Facility. The GRF had made some serious close breakthroughs, but they had not yet completely succeeded in creating the vaccine. With a little bit of more time, the scientists of the GRF are 100 percent certain that they can find the cure.

Kagome was the one of these scientists who worked at the GRF. Not only that, she was also responsible for the security of the GRF and for the safety of the city and its people. The city and the citizens of Victoria.

Right now though, she was the head of the security and was waiting for four unfortunate souls to arrive.

At exactly 16:00, Kagome looked up from her desk to see a male and two females file meekly into the room. But, there was one person missing. A single male was not here.

Kagome's pale long-fingered hands clenched into fists as a malevolent glint appeared in her blue-green eyes. The other occupants of the room flinched and cowered away from her angry aura and shivered. Once Kagome had that look in her eyes, it meant that someone was going to pay a visit to Hell.

Kagome watched the clock on her wall tick, and at 16:01, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits that promised immense pain as they swept around the silent still room.

"Inuyasha, you are a dead man."

ooo0ooo

This is the end of the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, it would mean a lot to me since this is my first fanfic ever and I could really use the encouragement. Thanks!


	2. You are a dead man

**Previously…**

_**At exactly 16:00, Kagome looked up from her desk to see a male and two females file meekly into the room. But, there was one person missing. A single male was not here.**_

_**Kagome's pale long-fingered hands clenched into fists as a malevolent glint appeared in her blue-green eyes. The other occupants of the room flinched and cowered away from her angry aura and shivered. Once Kagome had that look in her eyes, it meant that someone was going to pay a visit to Hell.**_

_**Kagome watched the clock on her wall tick, and at 16:01, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits that promised immense pain as they swept around the silent still room.**_

"_**Inuyasha, you are a dead man."**_

ooo0ooo

**II.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Inuyasha wiped furiously at the lipstick smeared on his lips and cheeks. Kagome was going to be angry. He snorted. That was definitely an understatement. She was _not_ going to angry, no; instead, she was going to be downright _pissed_. He shuddered and groaned in horror. He knew he had a huge ordeal ahead of him contained behind the closed door at the end of the hall.

Suddenly, he smiled. Maybe Kagome would be feeling merciful today from escaping the clutches of the Rogue and give him a break! Yeah! Just maybe—! He stopped abruptly in his path as a harsh and bitter laugh escaped from his throat. Who was he kidding? Kagome? Mercy? Especially when she was going to be royally pissed? Hah! He would be lucky to be alive by the time she was finished with him.

The black-haired man moaned, the very picture of depression. How was he going to survive? Knowing Kagome, who was usually bright and cheerful, when seriously enraged, became the very Devil himself. He was never going to make it out alive.

With that thought in mind, Inuyasha dejectedly dragged his feet to that last door, down a suddenly long and ominous corridor, to an office where his demise awaits.

ooo0ooo

Ayame watched Inuyasha from a tiny security screen with a smirk from her front desk. '_Wow…one moment he looks relieved and then the next moment he looks like his world is about to fall apart!_' she snorted. '_I don't blame him. If he's not lucky, he's not going to make it out of Kagome's office alive. But if he does happen to survive…well, let's just say some very important male anatomy will be missed dearly by not only himself, but some money-hungry females…_' With that, the girl gave a sinister cackle. Let's just see how Kikyou will deal with _that_!

She grinned and drummed her fingers happily on the polished wooden desk. This was going to be one hell of an entertainment. Too bad Shippou's not here to see Inuyasha get his ass kicked.

ooo0ooo

As Inuyasha approached his doom, he decided that he was acting stupid. '_I mean, what damage can a little female like Kagome do to a strong male like me?_' He nodded. Yes, he will not act like a bad puppy with his tail between his legs. A man like him was definitely not going to bow down to Kagome—a woman at that—instead, he's going to show a particular girl who was the boss. He was later shown how wrong he was…

Upon entering the room, Inuyasha was met with an unholy silence. Resisting the urge to run, he stalked over to the desk and stuck his face close to Kagome's own blank one.

"Look here, wench. Just because the old hag retired and gave you her position as chief, you're still a female bitch and this male isn't going to take any bullshit from you," Inuyasha growled and stared into empty blue-green eyes. When he got no reply, he figured that his rough speech had frightened the little girl and allowed a smug smile to spread across his face. "Now you know who the real boss is, bitch."

"Bullshit."

Startled, the black-haired man whirled around to glare at the only other male in the room. A female just can't have the ability to voice such menace in a single word. That was something only a male was capable of, right? Wrong. Inuyasha was going to pay for all his presumptions about females, especially for that rude outburst…

"You dare to call Kaede an old hag?"

Inuyasha stared at Miroku's lips. It didn't move when he was the one supposed to be talking! Then who—? He froze as he realized that Miroku's terror-filled eyes were staring behind him, which meant that it wasn't him who had spoken those menacing words. It was—

Kagome was no longer sitting in her chair; instead, she was standing with a very angry face. "Not only did you dare to insult Kaede and I, you also insulted all the females of the 21st century. And for that, you are going to pay dearly."

Inuyasha snorted before charging forward, bringing his fist low for a low strike. "Shut up and learn your place, bitch!" Before he could blink, he found himself on the floor with his arms twisted behind him and a knee painfully digging into his back.

"That wasn't a very good idea, Inuyasha," Kagome murmured into his ear. "Try attacking me again and you will find yourself castrated. Is that understood?"

The man underneath nodded feverishly. Satisfied, Kagome stood only to freeze on the spot. A few heartbeats later, she was pressing the button number six on the phone, all the while staring at the hidden security camera located at the top corner of her office.

ooo0ooo

Ayame cocked her head to one side. Why was the chief staring at the camera? Before she could think of an answer, the telephone rang.

Surprised, she almost fell out of her chair as she scrambled for the phone. "Yes?"

"Ayame."

The said person grinned. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I know you have been enjoying the show. But right now, I need you to contact Kouga and have him prepare his men. I'm going to need the backup."

"Backup?"

There was a pause on the other side of the line. "_He_ is nearby." With that, the phone went dead.

Ayame swore. "Shit!" Hurriedly, she called Kouga to inform him of his orders.

ooo0ooo

Kagome hung up and turned her attention to the others in the room. "We will continue this later. Right now, I want you all to arm up and meet me back here in 10 minutes sharp. We don't have much time."

Sango spoke up. "Arm up for what?"

"I can sense him. The Master is nearby."

Silence reigned in the office until Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.

He snarled. "That bastard…Sesshoumaru…"

ooo0ooo

I really like this chapter. If I must say so myself, I simply love bashing Inuyasha! It's really fun and entertaining!

I would like to thank both PerkyPuppy and Broken-Memory for their reviews in chapter one. It had given me the motivation to continue on. Thank you very much!

Please review!


	3. Cut the I'm lusting for your body crap

**Previously…**

_**Kagome hung up and turned her attention to the others in the room. "We will continue this later. Right now, I want you all to arm up and meet me back here in 10 minutes sharp. We don't have much time."**_

_**Sango spoke up. "Arm up for what?"**_

_**"I can sense him. The Master is nearby."**_

_**Silence reigned in the office until Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.**_

_**He snarled. "That bastard…Sesshoumaru…"**_

ooo0ooo

**III.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Kagome crouched warily behind an evergreen tree. It was really nice outside today with the sun shining brightly, the flowers in full bloom, bees were busy making honey, birds were singing, and what was she doing? She was holding a goddamn gun waiting for her fucking backup to arrive. Outwardly, she looked calm and composed. On the inside, Kagome was fuming. She had _told_ Kouga to bring his men and to meet her at Mount Doug Park in ten minutes and where was he? Not in her goddamn fucking sight! Just where the hell can that stupid wolf be! She seethed and told herself the next time she sees the mangy wolf, she was going to make sure he would not able to sit on his sorry ass for a long time.

"Are you sure the Master is heading this way?" Miroku asked and he lowered himself cautiously beside her.

"Yes, he'll be here in about five more minutes," Kagome replied. "And keep your hands to yourself, Miroku. You are already in deep trouble as it is," she added without looking down at the hand that was just about to grope her bottom.

The man beside her sighed and retrieved his left hand to glare at it reproachfully. "I swear this hand has a life of its own."

Sango snorted from behind a Gary Oak tree located a few feet away from Kagome's evergreen. "Try another excuse, monk. That one is growing old."

Miroku feigned innocence. "What ever do you mean, dear Sango?"

Before the brown-eyed woman could reply scathingly, Kagome raised a hand for silence. "He's coming in," she hissed quietly. "Get yourselves into position and wait for my signal. Relay this order to the others and quickly!"

Miroku sobered immediately and nodded. Darting from behind the evergreen he crept quietly towards others.

Kagome exhaled and waited patiently for the shadowed figure to walk into the clearing directly located in front of her tree. A few minutes later, a tall man stepped into view. His long silver hair fluttered softly in the wind as his golden eyes met the blue-green eyes of Kagome's. He took another step and stopped a couple of feet away from the evergreen. Under the sunlight, his infamous markings stood out. A crescent moon could be seen on his forehead and two identical stripes were marked on both elegant cheeks. Combined with the soft furry tail wrapped around his right shoulder, the straight graceful nose, and the full kissable-looking lips, the man was a glorious sight to behold.

"_Ma cherie_, what do I owe for this pleasant visit?" His smooth velvety voice wrapped sensuously around her body. "Or have you changed your mind?"

Kagome sighed and placed her gun back into the holster hanging from her hips. Standing up, she walked out from behind the evergreen tree to face the Master. "You know that isn't the reason why I am here."

Sesshoumaru raised an elegant silver brow. "Indeed. But one can only try."

The young woman leaned against the evergreen and casually crossed her arms across her chest, bringing her right hand closer to the gun in case she had the need to draw it quickly. "So you do know why I am here." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Are you sure you aren't here because you've changed your mind?" the Master asked with a sexy smile as he flicked a strand of hair over his shoulder.

"Cut the I'm-lusting-for-your-body crap. I'm not here to play games with you, Fluffy."

Sesshoumaru sighed. "You do know that you are the only one who can call me that offending name and live."

Kagome smiled sweetly. "I know. That's why I use it as much as possible."

"Just make sure you tell your people surrounding the area around us both that if _they_ call me any nicknames, they will forfeit their lives."

The young woman sighed. "I keep on forgetting that you can sense the others with your demonic skills. Damn the nose, eyes, and ears!"

The Master grinned slyly. "I didn't use my senses. I merely tapped into the connection that we have."

Kagome groaned and her left hand went down to touch the side of her waist. "I would have never let you bite me if it wasn't to save your sorry ass from death."

"And I'm entirely grateful that you did. Your life energy replenished not only my body of wounds but my powers as well to their full extent," the Master purred.

"Just remember that I only did it so you could keep the Rogue under control."

"Of course."

"Then why did you leave the perimeters of the city?"

A pleasant mask slipped over his features as the silver-haired man regarded Kagome with a small smile. Walking up slowly, he stopped a hairbreadth away in front of her. Leaning forward, he buried his nose into her braided knee-length hair. Breathing in her unique scent of jasmine and vanilla, he murmured softly into her ear. "He tried to come after you didn't he?"

She nodded slightly. Sesshoumaru sighed, his hot breath caressing the side of her neck and Kagome had to force herself from shivering in delight. "I left the city only to find Totosai to reclaim my father's sword."

Totosai was a renowned mysterious old man who had the ability to place power into swords. Whether it was the power to kill or heal, the old man was the one you would go to for such swords. Tenseiga was one such sword that had the ability to bring those dead back from the dead. It was gift from Inutaisho, Sesshoumaru's father, made from one of his own fangs.

"Tenseiga?"

He nodded. "I killed Jaken and it was then that I remembered that I needed him to look after Rin." Rin was a small young child that the Master had picked up from the streets. She was suffering from starvation and the cold Master had decided to show rare compassion and took the child under his wing.

Kagome snorted and stepped away from him. "The green toad? Why don't you just hire a baby-sitter? Anyone's got to be better than that slimy little man."

"But will a baby-sitter swear a Blood Oath?"

"No."

"My point exactly."

A Blood Oath was a serious matter created and laid down by the Gods. To perform it, the oath taker would prick his finger and use his own blood to sign a vow. If his pledge was to ever be broken, the blood of the unfortunate oath breaker would boil to a high temperature and he would die a slow and painful death. To take a Blood Oath was like signing a contract on your life.

"Nevertheless, we will be escorting you back to your home," Kagome said firmly and raised her left hand. Immediately, armed men and women poured out from behind the trees and from underneath the bushes, all guns pointed steadily at Sesshoumaru.

He sighed again. "_Ma cherie_, I don't think that this is a good idea."

"And your reason would be…?"

"The Rogue is heading this way with a hundred men strong. Don't you think you should be aiming your guns at him?"

ooo0ooo

Sesshoumaru the sexy Master has finally entered the scenes. Not only that, Kagome sure is awesome when she's royally downright pissed.

Please review!


	4. Killing Perfection

**Previously…**

**_"Nevertheless, we will be escorting you back to your home," Kagome said firmly and raised her left hand. Immediately, armed men and women poured out from behind the trees and from underneath the bushes, all guns pointed steadily at Sesshoumaru._**

_**He sighed again. "Ma cherie, I don't think that this is a good idea."**_

_**"And your reason would be…?"**_

_**"The Rogue is heading this way with a hundred men strong. Don't you think you should be aiming your guns at him?"**_

ooo0ooo

**IV.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Kagome swore. "Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I can handle him easily."

"Arrogant bastard!"

"Hn."

The young woman shook her head and turned to focus her attention on the monk. "Miroku! Contact Kouga and ask him what the hell is taking him so long. He should be here already with the backup!"

"Right away, Kag dear!"

The Master turned and raised an eyebrow. "'Kag dear', _ma cherie_?"

She gave a long-suffering sigh. "It's Miroku the lecherous monk. What do you expect?"

"Point taken."

ooo0ooo

The Rogue tensed before relaxing to allow a smile to spread across his features. The wench was up ahead with only a few people around her. This was definitely his day. Not only was he going to finally make the girl his, the bastard Sesshoumaru had also unintentionally set him free when he left the perimeters of the city. He grinned sadistically, not only that, he was able to corrupt about a hundred soldiers from the Master's own army. He had filled their pathetic human minds with thoughts of immortality if they were to serve him and only him. Truly wretched were the race of human beings. The Rogue snorted, it wasn't like he could actually_ grant_ eternal life. Besides, even if he could, there would be no way in Seven Hells would he grant this weak species their wish anyways.

Gesturing for a soldier, the Rogue ordered, "Get me the commander. We are getting close to the girl."

"Yes, sir," the soldier smartly saluted his general before sprinting off to carry out his order.

A few minutes later, the flap of the tent lifted and a man with short curly black hair and sharp grey eyes stepped through. Saluting in greeting, the man said, "You called, sir?"

"Takka, we are nearing the girl that we have been chasing after and nearly caught this morning," the Rogue turned around and faced his commander with narrowed red eyes. "This is your last chance to capture her. If you fail me and let her slip through your fingers again, consider your life to be over. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir!" Takka swallowed nervously. "I will send our best men after her immediately!"

"No." His general walked over towards him and gently traced a line down his cheeks with a claw. "She will sense them nearby since she is, after all, a sorceress."

"A sorceress, sir?"

The Rogue sighed. "This girl is from a long line of strong magical blood. Over the centuries, her ancestors have tuned their powers to align with the Heavens and Mother Nature. They are, what you might call, holy people with holy powers. And since SEEDs like me are not part of nature and are creations created by Mankind, her holy senses will detect the taint in your men's aura from being in contact with me. This will give her plenty of warning and she will be able to slip through our grasps and I will not let that happen again!"

"Then what do you suggest, sir?"

"I want you to bring me your choice of men first. I will give them something to hide their aura from her senses."

"As you command, sir!" With that, Takka turned sharply on his heels and marched smartly out of the tent.

The general waited until the flap closed behind him before lifting a draping at the back of the tent and stepped into another room—a bedchamber to be more exact. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large king-sized red silk bed with chains hanging from the bedposts that would serve their purpose once delicate female wrists and ankles were strapped in and anchored. A silk scarf was set on the small oak table beside the bed that he hoped would be used later on as a gag with a leather whip which he could hardly wait to whip across a pale white bottom. This room was not actually part of the tent although it was connected. He had used a little bit of magic to create this chamber and a little more to cloak it from the eyes and ears of humans. Sitting on top of the bed, a sadistic smile spread across his face. The Rogue hoped that his little chosen female will appreciate the time and thought he had taken to prepare this room when he finally has his way with her.

He sighed. This was not the time to start fantasizing. He needed to concentrate on the task ahead. He sighed again. Might as well get on with it. Leaving the magical chamber, the Rogue stepped back into his tent and went to his desk to unlock a drawer. Taking out five red amulets, he touched each one all the while muttering incantations under his breath. When the last amulet turned black, he sat back with a small smile. The spell was complete.

"Sir, I have brought the men you have requested for." Takka was back and this time, he was with five other men.

Standing up, the Rogue threw a spelled amulet to each of the new five men with careless ease. "Put these on," he instructed, "and do not take them off until I say you may. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" came the chorus reply.

"Then get out there and bring me that girl!"

ooo0ooo

Kagome sat happily beside Sango and Miroku as she relaxed against a pine tree. "Now this is what I call relaxation!"

Sango sighed with a joyful grin. "Yeah. I—Kagome! Look out behind you!"

"Wha—?" was the only thing Kagome could utter before she was knocked unconscious. Her attacker swiftly picked her up bridal style as he nodded at the rest of his companions. The four other men took out their guns and without hesitation, fired at the shocked and unarmed Sango and Miroku. Satisfied that the young woman and man were dead from having bullets shot through their heads, the four turned and trailed after the first man and his precious bundle, guns posed in case there were others nearby that might needed killing.

ooo0ooo

From underneath a bush, a figure winced. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt."

Another figure whacked the speaker on the head and hissed, "Shut up, you idiot. If they find out that we're here, we'll be dead meat."

"Thank you so much for that little encouragement there."

"Shut up," was the snapped reply.

The first figure only sighed.

ooo0ooo

Kagome awoke only to groan in pain. What the hell happened to her? And where is she anyways? Muttering angrily under her breath, the young woman sat up on the bed and—wait. Bed? What on Earth—? Her eyes dropped down only to see that she was sitting on a large—probably king-sized—red silk bed. Horrified she yelped and tried to scramble away only to fall flat on her face on top of a soft red pillow. It was then that she realized that she was tied up. Her wide eyes travelled from the metal clasps on her wrists up to the chains that were wrapped tightly around the bedpost. With her heart in her throat, Kagome looked down her body and found that her ankles were also chained up. Now completely terrified, she struggled vainly to release herself from the chains.

"I see that you are awake."

Kagome looked up and stared in fear at the sneering Rogue at the foot of the bed. "What the hell do you think you're doing! Release me at once!"

The Rogue ignored her and continued speaking, "Do you like this chamber? I spent quite a while on it. I hope you find it to your liking."

"I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you but I find it disgustingly fucking ugly," the young woman spat angrily.

The Rogue turned and slapped her hard across the cheeks. "You will do well to control your language in my presence!"

"Do you really think that I fucking care!"

"Hold your tongue!"

"Sorry," Kagome sarcastically apologized. "But no can do."

The Rogue spun and punched her in the stomach, knocking the breath from her body. Gasping for breath, Kagome could only curl into herself as he delivered more punches at her body. After a while, the Rogue sighed and stood back. "That was quite refreshing."

"Of course it was," Kagome managed to say as she coughed up blood. "I must say that attacking a chained and unarmed person is very enjoyable, you fucking monster!"

She watched as his face slowly turned red with rage, his hands curled into tight fists as the vein bulged from his forehead. Oh dear, she had said something that had hit a nerve. Now she was in for it. She mentally sighed and prepared herself for more punches. What she didn't expect was for him to rip his shirt off and stalk towards her with a feral glint in his eyes. Grabbing her roughly around the waist, he pulled her flush against his body as his mouth descended upon hers with bruising force.

'_Oh God! He's going to force himself on me!_' she thought frantically and began to struggle violently. The Rogue only smiled against her lips and reached for the helm of her shirt.

"You really are stupid, aren't you? Well, I guess that can't be helped since you think from between your legs instead of your brain. How pitiful."

The Rogue wretched himself from Kagome and turned to face the owner of the flat and cold voice in shock. "How the fuck did you get in here?"

"This Sesshoumaru does not need to explain himself to the likes of you."

The Rogue pulled Kagome in front of him and raised his right hand to lay his deadly extended claws at her throat. "You come any closer and this girl here dies."

The Master gave a small smile. A smile that shouted death. It was the deadly infamous smile of the Killing Perfection. "What girl?"

The Rogue looked down at the young woman in his arms and surprise showed in his eyes as he watched her turn and smile then waver to disappear into thin air.

"I suspect you enjoyed threatening an illusion that Kagome created for you," Sesshoumaru said flatly and cracked his knuckles, his eyes bleeding red as poison leaked from his claws to drip onto the carpet with a hiss. "I'm going to teach you to never try again to touch what is mine."

"It's time for you to go back into your cage, Naraku."

ooo0ooo

Phew! That was an intense scene there. I know, I know, I left it at a cliffy as usual. But, don't you just _luv_ the suspense? Heh, I certainly do.

I'm really hoping to get more reviews this time. Since there were more than 150 hits to this story and I only got four reviews, I think I will wait for three or more reviews to continue. (I'm sorry _Broken-Memory_. You've supported me throughout chapters 1 to 3 and I thank you deeply from my heart, but I would really like more reviews to get me going. I hope you understand.)

I know that some things are a bit confusing at the moment and that you have no idea who or what SEED is, and there are some loose ends to be tied up but please don't worry. These confusions will be cleared up in later chapters.

Please review!


	5. Human Servant? HA!

**Previously…**

**_The Master gave a small smile. A smile that shouted death. It was the deadly infamous smile of the Killing Perfection. "What girl?"_**

_**The Rogue looked down at the young woman in his arms and surprise showed in his eyes as he watched her turn and smile then waver to disappear into thin air.**_

_**"I suspect you enjoyed threatening an illusion that Kagome created for you," Sesshoumaru said flatly and cracked his knuckles, his eyes bleeding red as poison leaked from his claws to drip onto the carpet with a hiss. "I'm going to teach you to never try again to touch what is mine."**_

_**"It's time for you to go back into your cage, Naraku."**_

ooo0ooo

**V.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Naraku laughed. "I'm sorry, _Lord_ Sesshoumaru. But I'm not going back to that prison. Not on my life."

"Then I guess I will take it from you." In a white blur, the Master had the Rogue in the air with his claws wrapped tightly around his throat.

The dark-haired SEED ignored the threat clamped around his throat and continued to laugh. "Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru, do you think that I've waited this long for a taste of freedom only to have you take it away?" His face went sober and furious as he added with a snarl, "Freedom you took away!"

"And what are you going to do about it since you're not going anywhere. Not when my claws are at your throat," Sesshoumaru's mask of indifference showed no emotion as Naraku chuckled.

"Don't you see, Fluffy?"—Poison claws slashed and ashes drifted through the air— "I'm not really here, this was only a puppet…" Sinister laughter echoed as the Rogue's voice faded away.

Sesshoumaru dropped the torn puppet and stepped away, his golden eyes disgusted. "I should have known, Naraku you coward."

"Sesshoumaru!"

The said person looked up and watched as the real Kagome ran up to him. "What happened? One minute, soldiers were everywhere and then the next, you were standing all alone. Just what happened between you and the Rogue?"

"Naraku probably had a transportation spell up his sleeve in case things did not go according to his plan. The soldiers are most likely back to where he's hiding and before you start asking any other questions, see if you can trace his magic to its origin."

Kagome closed her eyes and her brow furrowed in concentration. A few heartbeats later, her blue-green eyes opened with a sigh. "I'm sorry. There's no trace of him. He's wiped out everything. I can't get anything." Seeing a mound of clothes beside the Master, she pointed at it, puzzled. "And why didn't he take that with him?"

"To make things short, this was his puppet that I killed for calling this Sesshoumaru Fluffy." The Master flicked a strand over his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

The young woman beside him snorted. "He called you what? He's got guts—" she stopped abruptly and her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Wait. Did you say 'puppet'?"

The Master nodded.

"A _bloody_ puppet! We were fucking around with a fucking puppet!" Kagome swore colourfully. "And we fell for it!"

"Indeed."

"Uh, Kag? Can we come out now?" called a voice from the young woman's left side.

Kagome sighed and lowered the shields that had blocked the auras of herself, and her people's from the Rogue's senses and managed to grit out from between clenched teeth. "Yeah. The coast is clear." She watched as Sango, Miroku, and the rest of her people crawl out from underneath the bushes with sighs of relief.

Miroku grinned. "Man! Your illusions were awesome! They looked way too real for comfort. Kaede's training has finally paid off, eh Chief?"

Sango straightened, dusted the dirt and leaves from her clothes, and whacked him on the head. "And you almost gave us away with useless comments about how that's 'gotta hurt'."

The monk groaned and rubbed his head. "Sango, you're killing all my brain cells!"

"You don't have any, monk."

"Now that was cruel!"

"If you aren't so stupid, I wouldn't be cruel!"

"Well it's not my fault that you're such a bitch!"

"Pass that by me again." Sango had gone deadly calm. Maybe it was a warning that Hell was about to break loose if a certain monk did not shut up.

Miroku did not heed the warning. "I said, that it's not my fault that—!" A loud _thunk_ was heard and the monk keeled over with glazed eyes. Sango _humphed_ and turned away with a muttered, "Stupid man."

The Master faced the grinning Kagome with a raised brow. "You have some interesting friends, _ma cherie_."

She heaved a heavy sigh before breaking out into a wide smile. "You have no idea."

"This Sesshoumaru hopes you will help him catch the Rogue."

Again, Kagome grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, I promise."

The Master nodded. "I will hold you to that. Until then, farewell."

"Bye bye, Fluffy."

ooo0ooo

That night, in Sango's apartment, Kagome asked for the hundredth time, "Sango, are really sure that I can stay here for the night? 'Cause I could always go to a hotel and—."

"Kagome. Relax. It's fine," Sango reassured her for the hundredth and one time from her bed. "If it you want to pay me back, just tell me what the Master meant when he said that he used the connection between you two earlier today, okay?"

Her friend warned, "It's a long story."

"We've got all night. It's our day off tomorrow, remember?"

Kagome sighed. "Alright. It all started when I was in the middle of dinner…"

:Flashback:

Kagome paused and looked up from her plate of spaghetti when she heard the door bell ring. Taking her gun from her kitchen counter, she pressed herself against the wall beside the door. Paranoid? Her? Absolutely not! Well…maybe a little…Better jumpy than dead. "Who is it?"

"Lady Kagome, it's Rin!" came the muffled reply.

Immediately, the young woman opened the door to reveal a small short black-haired girl of eight years. Putting the gun down on a table, Kagome opened her arms to catch the child in a motherly hug. "What's the matter Rin? Why are you here?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru is hurt! Please, you have to help him!" Rin cried.

"Tell me what happened."

Rin sniffled. "Rin was playing outside in the garden with Jaken when a lot of big scary men appeared from the forest and tried to grab Rin. Rin screamed for Lord Sesshoumaru. Lord Sesshoumaru appeared and began to fight the scary men. Although Lord Sesshoumaru is very strong, he was unarmed and the scary men had big guns. After Lord Sesshoumaru couldn't move from all his wounds, they all left." The girl burst into tears. "Lord Sesshoumaru is dying Lady Kagome! Please, help him!"

Kagome did not hesitate to grab her keys and the gun from the table before running out her door with Rin held tightly in her arms. "Where is Sesshoumaru, Rin?"

"Behind Lord Sesshoumaru's house in the forest."

Buckling the child in, Kagome revved the engine and shot out from the garage. Swiftly taking the quickest route to the Uplands, the young woman suddenly realized that Rin had came to her alone.

"Rin, did you walk all the way to my place?"

The young girl nodded. "Rin did."

Kagome gaped. "You walked more than 2 miles! Why didn't you use a phone at Sesshoumaru's house?"

"Jaken would not let Rin into the house and Jaken has the keys."

"I'm going to kill that toad," Kagome growled under her breath.

Half an hour later of intense speeding, a silver mustang pulled up in front of tall silver gates. Kagome turned around in her seat and faced the child in the back. "Rin, do you know the security code to get in?"

The girl nodded. "Yes!"

"Alright then," the young woman helped unbuckle Rin and added with a smile, "Would you unlock the gates for me, please?"

"Okay, Lady Kagome!" Hopping out of the car, Rin pressed some buttons and then stepped back to let a ray of green light scan her body from head to toe.

Kagome sat back in her seat with wide eyes. Well, that little part of the security system was certainly new, not to mention high tech and must definitely cost a fortune. She snorted. Not like Sesshoumaru couldn't afford it, especially when he owned countless companies around the world inherited from his father. She was snapped back into reality when a young voice said, "Hurry, Lady Kagome! The gates will close soon!"

Kagome looked up to see Rin waving to her in the driveway. Smiling at her, she pressed gently on the gas pedal and eased her silver mustang convertible into the driveway. Stepping out, Kagome automatically locked the car and took Rin's right hand. "Lead the way, Rin."

The young girl nodded and began sprinting past the massive mansion and into the forest in the back. Easily keeping up with the child, Kagome's eyes went wide again with shock as they shot through the trees and into a large clearing. And there, curled on top of the tall grass with multiple bloody wounds, was Sesshoumaru in his true form.

"Oh my Lord…" Rushing forward, Kagome knelt beside the magnificent dog only to suddenly leap away as a staff swept at the space she had just occupied.

"Get back, you filthy human!" a little toad-like man brandished his wooden staff at her. "Lord Sesshoumaru does not need the help from wenches like you! I'll—" He was suddenly cut off as he was thrown up into the air and far away into the horizon.

Dusting her hands from the feeling of touching something so slimy, Kagome knelt down again and gently stroked the soft white snout of the Master. "Sesshoumaru, I need you to transform back into your humanoid form. If you can't, I won't be able to get the bullets out of you."

She received no answer but after a minute, Sesshoumaru was once again in his humanoid form.

"Thank you," she said softly then she reached deep into herself and recalled the words of Kaede and her teaching.

_Reach into thyself, Kagome, and ye will find your ball of power waiting for your command_. Kagome closed her eyes and dropped deeper into herself. Coaxing a strand of blue light, she pulled the strand from a glowing blue globe—her ball of healing power—within herself and directed it through Sesshoumaru's body.

Surveying the damage, the sorceress mentally winced. The bullets contained mercury, which were deadly to SEEDs (A/N: I know, I know. You're all thinking: '_What is SEED_! Right? Do not worry and drop your pants. You'll find out what it is in the next chapter. I promise.) and scowled. This was going to take a _long_ time…

Three hours later, Kagome sat back with a groan. She lifted her arms into the air and arched her back to loosen up stiff muscles from kneeling and crouching in the same position for such a long period.

"Is Lord Sesshoumaru going to be okay?"

Kagome whirled around, startled, and stared with wide eyes at Rin. Shit, she had forgotten about the child. "I'm sorry I made you wait for such a long time, but I believe he should be awake in a minute."

"I'm…awake now…" came a weak voice from behind Kagome. She whirled around to face the Master, startled again. Man! What was with her and being surprised so many times! She must be tired.

After ten minutes of silence, Kagome finally realized that Sesshoumaru had not spoken or moved again. Worried, she placed two fingers at his throat and felt for his pulse. Weak. And it was getting weaker. How was this possible? She had taken out all the bullets and purified the mercury from his blood! He should be getting stronger! Not weaker!

Reaching for her magic again, Kagome cursed as she found the answer to her questions. A little bit of mercury had managed to evade her senses and was curling itself around his heart. She growled then sighed. She had no other options left. Her magic hadn't had the time to regenerate and she could not afford to wait. Even now, with each passing moment, Sesshoumaru was slipping further into the place in between the world of the living and the world of the dead. She had no choice. The only other way to save him was to share her aura with his so that he might draw upon to heal himself, and the only way to do that was for him to bite her.

Kagome sighed again. After all these years, evading his advances and his offer to his bed and becoming his human servant, she was going to let him bite her to save his sorry ass. A bite to share auras and thus a connection would be formed between them was the first step in becoming his human servant, and for him, in becoming her Lord and Master. But once again, she had no choice. The Master was needed alive to keep the Rogue in control. That was her reason to let him bite her. Or at least…that's what she told herself. She ignored the other reasons that she did not want to fathom…or rather…too afraid to do so. Shoving those thoughts aside, Kagome gently lifted the Master's head onto her lap.

"Come on, Fluffy. It's time for you to drink." Kagome winced at her own words before shaking her head. Lifting up her shirt to bare her stomach, she took a deep breath. Before she could lose her nerve, she gently placed the Master's lips on her waist. Automatically, Sesshoumaru opened his mouth and his fangs lengthened as he gently bit down to break her ivory smooth skin to draw out blood.

Kagome winced again, but this time, at the pain. The Master seemed to sense her discomfort and wrapped his arms (A/N: He has both his arms in this story.) snugly around her waist while the end of his tail gently caressed her cheek. This was all done while he still had his lips locked against her skin and drinking her blood.

A few minutes later, Sesshoumaru retracted his fangs from her waist and lapped at the wound he had caused. After a while, he pulled back and caught Kagome gently in his arms as she slumped over with exhaustion and blood loss.

"Thank you, _ma cherie_," was all she heard before she slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness.

:End Flashback:

"Is that the reason why you could sense him and he you? It was because of that connection between your aura and his aura that you guys can sense each other?"

Kagome nodded. "And that was also the reason why he said he could sense the rest of you at Mount Doug Park because a bit of my aura had mixed in with your guys' auras from being in contact with me, and he was able to detect that though the connection that we have."

Sango looked down at herself then looked back up at her friend. "Will your aura fade from ours?"

Her friend nodded again. "If you have not been in contact with me after three days, my aura will fade and no traces of me will be detected in your aura."

Sango grinned. "Awesome!"

Kagome only smiled.

"Then what happened next?" Sango asked and leaned forward.

Kagome smiled again. "The next morning, I woke up to find myself in a large soft bed. I sat up and saw that a certain SEED was sleeping on a chair beside the bed."

"Awwww!" Sango cooed. "He looked after you for the whole night! How sweet!"

Her friend sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sango. This is the Master we are talking about here. THE Master? You know, the one people call the 'Killing Perfection'?"

"But it's still so sweet!"

Kagome only sighed again.

"Hey, wait," Sango said. "Was he all healed when you woke up?"

Kagome nodded. "Absolutely, a hundred percent patched up and healed."

"So does this mean that you are only two more steps away from being his human servant completely?"

Kagome frowned in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

Sango sighed irritably. "Oh come on Kagome! You know the steps as well as I do! The second step in becoming a human servant is to have the junction at the side of your neck marked with a bite to bind your feelings and thoughts to your Master's, and the last step is to lose your virginity to bind your life to your Master."

Kagome snorted. "The first will not happen and neither will the latter. You can count on it!"

Sango smiled slyly. "Don't make promises that you might not keep, Kagome."

ooo0ooo

What a long chapter…took me forever to type it up! Oh well…Stay tuned for the next chapter where you will discover what SEED is!

Thank you very much for the reviews. It made me one happy person! Smiles.

Please REVIEW and make me CRY WITH JOY!

(Elvis voice :) Thank you. Thank you very much.


	6. Birth of SEEDS

**Previously…**

**_"So does this mean that you are only two more steps away from being his human servant completely?"_**

_**Kagome frowned in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"**_

_**Sango sighed irritably. "Oh come on Kagome! You know the steps as well as I do! The second stop in becoming a human servant is to have the junction at the side of your neck marked with a bite to bind your life to your Master's, and the last step is to lose your virginity to bind your feelings and thoughts to your Master."**_

_**Kagome snorted. "The first will not happen and neither will the latter. You can count on it!"**_

_**Sango smiled slyly. "Don't make promises that you might not keep, Kagome."**_

ooo0oo

**VI.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

'_Don't make promises that you might not keep, Kagome…_' The words seemed to echo on and on in her head. Kagome snorted. What was wrong with Sango and her way with words? Her friend always seemed to have the knack in getting words and unwanted thoughts stuck in her head. And that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. Earlier today, why did she promise Sesshoumaru that she would help him catch the Rogue? Didn't she want the Master dead? And she wouldn't have to lift a finger to kill him if the government found out that the Master had—even if unintentionally—set the Rogue free, Sesshoumaru would be killed—no, _eliminated_ was the word—right away.

Kagome sighed. No. She didn't want him dead. She shook her head. What changed her mind? She used to hate SEEDs with a passion ever since the Rogue murdered her family…including her baby brother Souta…Kagome blinked back tears and listened to the steady soft snoring of a slumbering Sango. '_What have I gotten myself into?_' she wondered. '_My life has just gotten a little more interesting…_'—she snorted— '_What an understatement…and it's all thanks to the government of United States of America and one particular SEED…_'

Eleven years ago—six years before Malady struck—the president of the United States of America had decided that humans had too many flaws.

Flaws that should be removed.

Ones that were once gone, would make humans perfect and that the wretched lives of humankind would start changing for the better.

Mankind would be completely flawless. And so then the government of USA decided to undergo a secret project named SEED.

SEED was a research—experiments to be exact—where significant changes were made to the DNA of human cells. It was like Spiderman who had his DNA improved by a rare spider. The DNA was enhanced to enable the 'perfect' humans to have incredible powers.

They began to take forms of animals and yet they remained human. They had claws instead of nails, they had ears that were not human, they had fangs instead of small canines, and their senses were no longer human as well. Their sense of smell sharpened, their sight was sharper than eagles in broad daylight and was as excellent as owls at night. Their ears could even pick up the sound of worms moving underground, and to add to all that, they were extraordinarily intelligent and had amazing abilities to heal oneself. They were immune to diseases that plagued humans…

Demons were what people called them…

Demons that were considered to be the start of a new and perfect race of Mankind.

At first, the tests were flushed down the toilet. All were total failures until one day, an expected-to-fail experiment became successful and a SEED was born. The scientists went ecstatic with the amazing discovery and decided on naming him 'The Master': the very first 'flawless' human ever and the most powerful one than the rest of the world and the yet-to-be born nine hundred other SEEDs.

As months went by, hundreds more of SEEDs were created until one fateful day on the last Experiment SEED1000. Something went wrong. Terribly wrong.

It was a rainy day when a mortally wounded young man with long black hair was carted into the surgery room. As he waited for the surgeon, a nurse came running in with a frantic look on her face.

"The police had just called in that Doctor Riley had been in a car crash! I'm afraid she won't be able to perform the surgery!"

"If we don't do something, this young man here will die! Get someone else in here then!"

The nurse nodded and dashed out of the room. Picking up a phone, she quickly dialled a number.

"Doctor Steven speaking. How may I help you?"

"Doctor! We've got an emergency here! A male has been gravely injured and needs your help!"

"Where is Doctor Riley? Isn't she on call?"

"She's been in a car crash! She can't make it in!"

"I'm on my way."

Five minutes later, a short man with wiry brown hair burst through the doors of the ER. Taking a look at the unconscious young man on the bed, Steven decided that this male could be a SEED. That is, if he didn't die on him.

Five hours later, at the last stage of the surgery, a loud thunderclap rumbled through the air. Doctor Steven was so startled that he poked himself with the needle he was currently holding and drew a drop of blood. Shrugging, he had continued inserting the rest of the improved DNA cells into his patient. What he didn't know was that one drop of blood had fallen on top of one of the cells. It was a mistake that caused the tragic incident of that historic day.

"There! The operation is complete!" Doctor Steven declared as he snapped off his bloodstained gloves. "For us to be 100 percent certain whether or not the experiment is a success or not we'll have to wait for a while since it'll take him a couple of days to wake up." He was wrong. He was very wrong.

The moment the doctor had taken off his surgical gloves, the patient's eyes had snapped open. The patient sneered as he sat up causing the nurses and doctors in the room to scream and shout in surprise.

"Oh your experiment was a success, old man," the patient snarled and bared long fangs that were not human. "Strange, but I feel a little bloodthirsty right now." And with that, he flexed his new claws and slashed at the shocked doctor in front of him. Doctor Steven did not stand a chance and neither did the rest of the people in the surgery room.

The Feds and the scientists that were part of SEED were quickly called in and after much struggle, the violent bloody patient was put to sleep. It was later discovered from reviewing the operation from a security camera that the little spill of blood from Doctor Steven's finger that had dropped onto one of the patient's DNA cell had not only caused major damage to his cells but had also created a bloodthirsty monster.

It did not take long for the reporters to find out about the accident and soon, the incident was broadcasted worldwide. People from around the world became frightened and began demanding that the SEEDs be killed.

"Those _things_ are a threat to the world! They don't belong here!" a man screamed into the microphone from New York.

"_Ils sont une menace à nos enfants!_" :They are a threat to our children: another woman sobbed in front of a camera from France.

"SEEDs bad! We kill them before they kill us!" a man told a reporter from China.

From all around the world, nations were uprising and demanding the deaths of all the SEEDs. At first, the governments ignored their peoples' cry but as weeks went by, the attempt murders of SEEDs escalated to more than eight billion. But since the SEEDs were a race that could not be injured by normal bullets, none were seriously injured.

What changed the minds of the governments around the world and had them take aggressive action against the SEEDs started on October 31st when the bloodthirsty monster—named the Rogue—broke out of his prison and began slaughtering people, both adults and children alike, on sight.

The governments sent soldiers and tried to gun down the raging SEED but they discovered to their horror that bombs and mustard gas did not cause harm and paid the price with their own lives.

The authorities began to panic, what were they going to do? With a killer on the loose, innocent lives of the citizens were at stake! Then, help arrived in the form of a young woman named Doctor Kate, the daughter of the late Doctor Steven. She had discovered a weakness that SEEDs themselves could not deny. Poison; however, mercury poisoning was the most effective weapon against these 'demons' since they are unable to purge this one particular substance from their bodies. Why? The answer was still a mystery.

So the governments began to manufacture bullets that contained mercury which would be released into the blood stream once the skin of an unfortunate SEED was pierced. Months passed as SEED by SEED dropped like stones to enter the world of the dead. But however hard the governments tried, their soldiers and even the world's best assassin could not kill the Master or the Rogue.

Finally, on a cold January day of the year 2060, the governments around the world made a proposal with the Master. If he could control the Rogue and _keep_ him contained, they will withdraw their forces and leave him and the rest of the remaining—however little—SEEDs left. And also, in return for keeping the Rogue locked up, the governments promised that the Master and the rest of the SEEDs would be able to live out normal lives. (Although that would not be possible since they could live for centuries without aging. It was another thing that the changed and enhanced DNA cells in their bodies had granted them.)

However…if the Master—even if it was accidental—released the Rogue…there would be serious consequences. One that would ultimately have the whole world rise against him and cost him his life and the lives of the rest of the remaining SEEDs.

Kagome sighed. Why couldn't she just report the Master and hand him over to the officials? What on Earth had she done to deserve all this? And why did the Master take an interest in _her_ of all people? She sighed again. Maybe it was because…she stopped. No. She did not want to think about it now…not now, not ever. She ignored the other part of her telling her that she _should _think about it. Kagome shook her head. She didn't want to…or maybe she was too afraid to…Pushing those confusing thoughts aside and muttering about a certain stupid SEED and his stupid charms, she pulled the quilt up to her chin and closed her eyes.

She'll deal with those thoughts in maybe…let's see…in maybe twenty three more years? Yeah…she could deal with that…

Her last conscious thought before she slipped into the world of dreams was: '_Why me?_'

ooo0ooo

AHHHHH! I just found out that I had disabled Anonymous reviews! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! ARGH! Sometimes I can be so stupid! I can't believe I didn't catch that! I'm really sorry! Especially for those that wanted to review but didn't get the chance to because of my stupidity! I'm sorry!

I hope that this chapter answers your questions about SEED. If not, please tell me what still confuses you when you review and I will try my best to rewrite this chapter with the questions in mind…but I can't promise it will be soon, especially with school coming up and me having to prepare and study more.

Thank you very much for the reviews in chapter 5! (Also, to answer PerkyPuppy's question, _ma cherie_ means _my dear_ in French.)

More reviews means more updates. More updates means more fun…Which makes me greedy for even MORE reviews. GREEDY! MUHAHAHA!

So….for the grand finale of this little rant…

PLEASE REVIEW AND QUENCH MY THIRST FOR THEM!


	7. One Scary Mother Instinct

**Previously…**

…**_Why did the Master take an interest in her of all people? She sighed again. Maybe it was because…she stopped. No. She did not want to think about it now…not now, not ever. She ignored the other part of her telling her that she should think about it. Kagome shook her head. She didn't want to…or maybe she was too afraid to…Pushing those confusing thoughts aside and muttering about a certain stupid SEED and his stupid charms, she pulled the quilt up to her chin and closed her eyes. She'll deal with those thoughts in maybe…let's see…maybe in twenty four more years? Yeah…she could deal with that…_**

_**Her last thought before she slipped into the world of dreams was: 'Why me?'**_

ooo0ooo

**VII.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Naraku stared down at the rippling pool at a laughing nine-year-old young boy. He watched as an old woman gently clobbered the young child on the head and scolded him with a smile. The boy giggled like any young child would and shook off her scolding with a bright smile. The old woman sighed and shook her head, the corners of her eyes crinkling even more as an amused smile spread across her aging face.

The dark SEED scowled and glared at the image in the pool. What right did they have to be so damn _happy_? His scowl deepened and on a savage impulse, slashed out with a clawed hand at the surface of the water. The disturbance caused large ripples to dissolve the joyful scene and he sneered in satisfaction. His eyes narrowed. His plan will cause the same effect to the unsuspecting old woman and child. He will slash out and dissolve the fucking annoying happiness and in return, he will get what he has sought for for many years.

"Takka."

His commander stepped forward and bowed, his black curly hair falling over his sharp grey eyes. "Sir?"

"Proceed with the plan."

"Right away, sir!"

Naraku looked up as Takka turned to leave. "I want her alive, Takka. Alive and untouched. Is that clear?"

Takka bowed once again. "Of course, sir. It shall be done."

"Make sure that it is."

ooo0ooo

Kagome held up a black lace thong and stared at it in revulsion. "_You've got to be kidding me!_"

Sango looked up. "What?"

"I'm not going to wear this! It's too—too—it's just not my type!"

"Oh come on, Kag. It'll look great on you!"

Her friend stared at her in horror. "_No fucking way!_"

"Kagome…if you don't buy it, I'll get you a bright hot pink one for your birthday," Sango threatened her.

Kagome gasped. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes I would!"

"Then I'll tell Miroku your bust size!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Kagome grinned and mimicked, "Oh yes I would!"

Kagome and Sango were at Mayfair Mall. They had decided on going shopping on their day off and were currently arguing in a lingerie store called _La Senza_. The girls were interrupted when a familiar voice called, "Hey! Sango! Kagome!"

They looked up to see Miroku easing his way through the crowds and towards the entrance of the store they were presently shopping in. Both girls watched him come closer with shock evident on their faces.

Was he _insane_!

They stared with their mouths open and their eyes were filled with horror. The perverted monk was _groping_ _every single woman_ he was walking by to get to them. Didn't he have the slightest idea that he could be arrested for sexual harassment?

The girls watched as he walked closer and closer towards them, a lecherous grin on his face as he continued groping every passing woman's bottom. Just as he was about to reach them—he was only _three_ feet away—, Miroku came to a screeching halt as a large hand clamped tightly around his wrist in a painful grip.

"Where'd the fuck did ya think ya were touchin'?" a gruff masculine voice growled as the large hand roughly removed Miroku's offending hand from a small tight bottom.

The monk gulped and with dawning horror looked up at the owner of the behind that he had just groped. Staring up, Miroku's dark purple eyes filled with terror as his jaw dropped in shock. He was staring up into the face of a tall, bearded, green-haired man. He froze as his brain processed that last word…_MAN!_ He, Miroku,—the ladies' man—, had just groped the ass of a **_MAN!_**

"I'm gonna beat the fuckin' pulp outta ya fur touckin' me ass!" The grip on Miroku's wrist tightened painfully as the monk gave a squawk of protest. Quickly wrenching himself free, he dove behind his two laughing friends.

"Sango! Kagome! Help me!" he pleaded as he cowered behind them.

The green-haired man cracked his knuckles menacingly as he growled, "Move aside, girlies. Not if ya don't wanna git hurt."

"Sango, please!"

The said female sighed and took pity. "Look, can we talk this out? I'm sure it was an ac—" she abruptly cut off her sentence and stiffened as she felt a hand squeeze her bottom. Eyebrows and eyes twitching furiously, the brown-eyed young woman grabbed the cowering man from behind her and pushed him forward. "Go ahead, sir. Do your best."

The tall man grinned. "Why thankee, girlie."

Miroku gaped in shock. "Sango! Why?"

Kagome answered for her angry friend with a shaking head. "You just had to grope her when she was helping you, didn't you? Don't you ever learn?"

The monk gulped and pointed with his right hand accusingly at his left hand. "I didn't do anything! The hand moved by itself! I swe—!"

"Can it, monk!" Sango cut in with a sharp edge to her voice. "You're on your own now."

Before Miroku could say more, he was yanked back by a large hand by his collar. Looking up at his upcoming doom, the monk gulped nervously.

His jailor grinned—well, actually—more like bared his teeth. "We're gonna have some fun now, ain't we?" Suddenly, the monk was yanked forcefully from his grip and dragged from the store. "What the—?" But when he looked up, the two females and the perverted man was already gone from sight. Unexpectedly, he grinned. Walking casually into the closest restroom, he peeled off the fake beard and the wig. He stepped into the empty restroom and his grey eyes glinted from the dim lighting as he locked the door behind him.

Takka flipped open his cellphone and threw the disguise into the trashcan. "The target has moved. Prepare yourself. I believe she will be there very shortly."

He hung up without so much of a good-bye and grinned. The plan was going smoothly so far. He chuckled. Even he had to admit that little disguise to keep the girl under surveillance was undeniably well done. The monk had played right into his hands…Let's hope the girl will do so too.

ooo0ooo

"Kagome! What's wrong?" Sango asked sprinting beside her friend.

Kagome growled. "Shippou."

Miroku frowned in confusion. "What about him?"

"He's in danger."

Sango and Miroku halted abruptly in their paths. Kagome turned around and sighed irritably. "What now? We don't have time to dawdle!"

"Why do you think he's in danger?"

Kagome exhaled. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "I just feel that something isn't right. I have this knot in my heart and I just know that Shippou is in danger. Now can we go?" Her friends nodded and dashed after her towards the exit.

Kagome vaulted over the railings and did not even pause to land before taking off down the parking lot and headed for her silver mustang sitting in the shade of the trees, her friends closely behind.

Sliding into her seat, Kagome revved up the engine and shot out of the parking lot and down Hillside Street. Her hands tightened almost painfully on the steering wheel as she growled mentally. If anyone dares to hurt Shippou…they are _sooo_ dead!

Shippou was her adopted son. She was at a murder scene where a family was killed in their beds when she had heard a noise coming from a closet and had opened it to reveal a weeping dark reddish-blonde child. Her heart went out to the poor orphan and had taken him under her care. As she and Kaede nursed the child back to health, she had completely fallen head over heels with motherly love for the young boy and treated him as if he was her own very flesh and blood.

Her blue-green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "If a single hair on his head is touched, I swear there will be hell to pay!" she snarled furiously under her breath.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other in the back seats with shocked wide eyes.

Miroku gulped uneasily. "She has one scary mother instinct."

Sango nodded and whispered in a nervous voice, "I'm glad I'm her friend."

The monk swallowed. "There's going to be some bloodshed soon."

Sango only nodded meekly in reply.

ooo0ooo

Sesshoumaru looked up from the paper in his hands and stood with a small frown on his usually smooth face. Something wasn't right. He felt worried…he felt _fear_…his silver eyebrows furrowed even more in concentration. That wasn't right. He, the great Master, never _ever_ felt fear. It was a foreign word in his vocabulary! But then…where could this strange emotion be coming from?...

He placed the paper in his hands on a pile on his expensive oak desk and walked slowly to the large tall window overlooking the garden. What was the matter with him? Was Kagome—? He stopped in his tracks and he stiffened. Of course. This feeling of fear must be coming from her from the connection that he had with her. The Master frowned. What has happened that has caused Kagome to radiate and transmit such a powerful emotion? The young woman was always calm, that is, if she wasn't raving angry about one thing or another. Just what was going on with Kagome?

The godly handsome SEED closed his eyes and focused as his awesome aura flared to life. Quickly locating a blue strand, he mentally followed it and softly probed at Kagome's gentle blue aura. Suddenly he scowled and momentarily pulled back from her aura. He had felt something that he despised with a deep feeling. Someone—or should he say—some_thing_ that he had warned never to touch what was his was nearby her…That damn Naraku! What the hell was his disgusting aura doing so close to Kagome's aura? Sesshoumaru growled, a possessive glint in his golden eyes. He probed at her aura again and then opened his eyes.

Striding away from the window, the Master stalked out of his office and swept down the stairs. He grabbed the keys to his black Jaguar and slid gracefully into the soft expensive leather seat. Starting up the engine he pulled out his cellphone and swiftly dialled seven numbers.

"Jaken speaking."

"Look after Rin. I will be back shortly."

"As you command, master."

Sesshoumaru hung up and screeched out of his large driveway. As he sped down the highway towards Oak Bay, he thought, '_If Naraku touches her or the kit…I will not contain him in his cage. I will _kill_ him!_'

ooo0ooo

Kagome lunged to the side and plastered herself behind a white van as bullets danced beside her on the concrete. Calmly, she reloaded her gun and turned to aim and fire at three men in their chests with deadly accuracy. Her eyes had turned silver with fury and were lethally cold and empty as she aimed again and brought down three more men.

Miroku, who was behind another vehicle, suppressed a shudder of fear before shooting down a man with dark brown hair. Kagome was enraged beyond reason and she will probably not calm down until Shippou was safe in her arms.

When he, Kagome, and Sango had arrived at Kaede's home in Oak Bay, they had immediately ran into the house with their guns out. Finding Kaede unconscious and the young boy nowhere in sight, Kagome had gone deadly emotionless. Her face was no longer bright and cheerful; instead, it was void of all emotion. Cold and blank.

After a couple of minutes of searching the house, Kagome discovered a note pinned on Shippou's bed. It had stated that if she wanted her child back safe and sound, she will have to meet them at an abandoned house located on the edge of the city.

Kagome had turned without a word and leapt into her mustang with her friends hot on her heels. The next few minutes were a nightmare for both Sango and Miroku as Kagome raced through the streets and weaved around cars with ferocious speed and amazing skill. By the time the car had stopped a couple of blocks from the abandoned house, Sango and Miroku were both near fainting from the couple close-death encounters, compliments from speeding down a school zone and just barely avoiding hitting an old man with his young grandchild and almost crashing off a couple of bridges and off steep cliffs.

Kagome was unfazed and had not spoken a single word during the whole trip stepped out of the silver mustang and took out her trusty Exo 6.0. Quietly creeping up behind the abandoned house with both of her friends, she had spotted a couple of men waiting to ambush her.

Calmly she had opened fire and killed four men immediately. Her blank face did not even flinch when a bullet caught her on her left shoulder. Diving behind a white van while Miroku and Sango dove behind a black jeep, she ignored her bloody injury and continued opening fire.

Miroku was yanked out of his thoughts when a high sharp wail pierced the air.

"**_Moooommmmmyyyyyy!_**"

He watched with horror-filled eyes as Shippou was dragged out into the opening by a handsome man with his gun pointed at the child's head. The red-eyed man called out in a loud ringing voice, "If you want this child alive, come out from where you're hiding Kagome."

Miroku whipped his head around and stared with dread as his chief and friend calmly stood and walked out from behind her only shield from fatal bullets.

The red-eyed man's eyes narrowed with satisfaction. "Drop your weapon."

Kagome complied and her gun landed on the bullet-riddled dirt with a thund.

"Now step forward and let my men bind you."

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "I never thought that you were so stupid, Naraku." And with that, she whipped out a Matrix 4.0 from behind her and swiftly shot with precise aim at the SEED. She watched dispassionately as the man dropped like a stone. "It's just too bad that you sent a puppet," she added her voice disgusted.

A voice echoed throughout the area, "And it's just too bad that your son will die here and in front of you."

Everything slowed down and went into slow motion mode as Kagome lunged for her weeping son as guns went off and bullets whizzed through the air from all directions towards the young child.

The young mother curled herself around her child and used her own body as a protective shield. The first bullet caught her in her right shoulder, another in her left leg, and three more were added into her unprotected back as she held Shippou close. As another bullet plunged into her left arm, Kagome screamed at the pain, her body convulsing agonizingly as it was riddled with ammos and blood blossomed like bright red flowers.

"**_Kagome_**!" Sango screamed and shot down four more men as she ran towards her mortally wounded friend.

Miroku snarled in a rare show of anger as he also made for his fallen chief's body, his gun going off repeatedly as each shot brought more of the enemy's men down like a pile of dominos.

Kagome gasped for air and gazed with soft tender eyes into the green eyes of her son. "Are you alright?"

Shippou nodded his eyes wide with fear as he hugged his mother close. "Mommy, you're hurt!"

Kagome managed to reassuringly smile a shaky smile. "I'll be fine. Mommy will protect you."

Tears gathered in her child's eyes as he buried his face into her neck. "Mommy…"

Before the young woman could comfort her child again, a bullet pierced the side of her waist. She screamed and fell forward, Shippou still cradled tightly against her chest.

"**_MOMMY!_**"

I'm okay, Shippou, Kagome wanted to say but found that her voice would not work. Dimly she heard a voice yell, "I told you I want her _alive and untouched_! I want a living girl! Not a _corpse_!"

Suddenly, she felt a calm feeling sweep throughout her injured and tired body. Her eyes fluttered and she struggled to keep them open.

"_Ma cherie_. Please, hold on."

The last sight that she saw was a pair of golden eyes. "Sesshou—?..." she trailed off and slipped down the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

ooo0ooo

_Oooh_…that was a _little_ bloody there…but it was interesting, don't you think?

Since school has started, I will be quite busy with homework; however, if I get more than 10 reviews for this chapter…I _guess_ I could be persuaded into updating sooner…

Well then…until the next chapter!

Please review!


	8. The Mark

**Previously…**

**_Before the young woman could comfort her child again, a bullet pierced the side of her waist. She screamed and fell forward, Shippou still cradled tightly against her chest._**

"_**MOMMY!"**_

_**I'm okay, Shippou, Kagome wanted to say but found that her voice would not work. Dimly she heard a voice yell, "I told you I want her alive and untouched! I want a living girl! Not a corpse!"**_

_**Suddenly, she felt a calm feeling sweep throughout her injured and tired body. Her eyes fluttered and she struggled to keep them open.**_

"_**Ma cherie. Please, hold on."**_

_**The last sight that she saw was a pair of golden eyes. "Sesshou—?..." she trailed off and slipped down the dark abyss of unconsciousness.**_

ooo0ooo

**VIII.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

A black Jaguar screeched to a halt behind Kagome's silver mustang and Sesshoumaru gracefully slipped out and automatically locked his car behind him. His pointy ears twitched as he took in the distant sound of gunshots.

'_Stupid humans. Fighting amongst themselves,_' he thought disgusted. Suddenly, he looked up and stiffened. He sniffed the air and his golden eyes narrowed, red slowly seeping into his vision as he released a possessive low growl. The Master took a step forward and was a silver blur to the human eye as he ran towards the sweet scent of Kagome's blood.

He arrived just in time to see the raven-haired young woman fall over with a crying child clutched to her chest. His eyes took in the blood streaming out of her many wounds and raced forward with his poison whip extended.

As bullets raced towards the fallen injured female, the Master artfully twirled on his feet and created an effective whirling shield. The bullets dropped one by one as his whip struck each of them away from their intended target.

The silver-haired SEED knelt down, ignoring the dirt ruining his white pants and peered into Kagome's face and saw that her emotions were in turmoil—especially fear for her child. Using his connection with her, he broadcasted calm feeling into her and watched as her features softened and her striking blue-green eyes flutter with exhaustion.

He gazed into her eyes and watched as Kagome struggled to focus on his face. "_Ma chérie_. Please, hold on."

"_Kagome!_" The Master looked on as Sango knelt by the young woman and gently turned her onto her back. Miroku gently pried the weeping kit from his chief's firm grip and softly comforted the young boy with soothing words.

Relatively sure that Kagome was in good hands for now, Sesshoumaru stood and let his senses take over. Sounds of leaves and twigs crushed under the feet of men as they reloaded their guns reached his sensitive ears and his sharp eyes and nose took in the scent of the demised puppet of Naraku's and the locations of the damn sneaky bastards.

With demonic speed, he moved with the grace of a deadly snake and struck with his poison-dripping claws. Within a blink of an eye, the enemy's men dropped with surprised features on each of their faces.

The beautiful SEED snorted in disgust. How pathetic…but that was to be expected from men under that damn Naraku's control. Really, humans are so fragile…he could kill them easily with a flick of his finger…how wretched.

He moved back and gently picked up the blissfully unconscious Kagome bridal style from a protesting Sango. Softly, he brushed a strand of raven hair from her face and tucked it gently behind her ear. He stood and glanced at the two other gaping humans. "I will take her with me. You, however, will go and take care of the kit and her car."

Sango bristled at his arrogant tone. "I think not! I will not leave my friend with a cold bastard like you!"

Miroku gulped and placed a restraining hand on the angry female's shoulder. "Uh, Sango? I think we should do what he says."

"Why?" she snapped.

"Because I will not hesitate to kill you," a frosty voice answered.

Sango shook her head stubbornly. "I don't care if I die or not. I just want to make sure Kagome will not die."

The Master glared down at her and coldly replied in a harsh whisper. "This Sesshoumaru will not let her die. You have my word."

The brown-eyed woman sighed. "Alright. We'll do as you say." She paused and glared up defiantly at the blank-faced SEED. "However, if she does die…Make no mistake, I _will_ kill you."

Sesshoumaru did not even bother to reply that a weak human like her could not possibly take down the Master. He'll—however—let it slide this time since the woman was obviously stressed and worried about the injured girl in his arms.

He turned on his heels and with demonic speed, raced for his Jaguar.

ooo0ooo

"Rin! You disreputable child! Get back here!"

The said young girl stuck out her tongue and giggled. "Come and get Rin!"

Jaken growled and waddled on his stubby legs after the laughing hyper child. "You disgraceful little wench! Come back here and go to bed!"

Rin pouted and wagged her tongue at the slimy little man. "Rin no want sleep!" she pointed outside and added, "The sun is still up high in the sky!"

"I don't care about the sun! You will go to bed!"

"But, Mr. Jaken! Rin did not eat lunch!"

"BED!"

Rin's brown doe eyes began to shimmer with tears. "But Rin is hungry!"

"Do you think I care, you ungrateful wench?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru would never—"

Jaken sneered at the mention of his lord's name. "The Master would never care if you starve to death or not, you stupid girl."

Rin burst into tears as the little green toad smirked. However, the smug expression was wiped off of his face when he went careening out of an opened window with a high girlish screech.  
Sesshoumaru watched with a dispassionate face although his amber eyes glimmered faintly with suppressed humour as he placed his left foot back on the carpet floor.

Rin looked up and broke into a toothy grin. "Lord Sesshoumaru!" She launched herself forward and hugged the SEED around his legs.

The Master allowed a small smile to escape from him and patted the girl on the head in acknowledgement. "Rin."

The child gazed into his face and asked with large tearful eyes. "Is it true that Lord Sesshoumaru would not care if Rin is hungry?"

He shook his head. "Jaken telling you lies again?"

Rin nodded then smiled happily. "Rin always knew that Lord Sesshoumaru cares!"

The Master sighed. "Rin, go eat then go torment Jaken. This Sesshoumaru have to take care of some business."

The young girl nodded again and obediently skipped away, all the while singing, "Mr. Jaken? Mr. Jaken? Lord Sesshoumaru said that Rin is to torment you…"

Sesshoumaru waited until the child was out of sight and hearing before releasing a soft chuckle. That slimy toad just might not be able to make it to the end of today.

He sighed and went sober. Now…where is that maid and where are those bandages…

ooo0ooo

Naraku gave a scream of rage. How dare he! He was this close—_this_ _close_—in obtaining that girl! He let out another yell of frustration and brought his fist down to smash a vase into the wall with a loud crash.

He was so close and then that stupid SEED had to come in and save the day!—another vase crashed against the wall—Why couldn't that fucking Sesshoumaru just leave him alone? What's the girl to him anyways? The Master was known to despise humans and yet, here he was, saving Kagome's ass every single time she was in danger! WHY!

Takka flinched as a window broke and shattered glass scattered like droplets of rain on the marble floor. His grey eyes showed fear as another roar of fury reached his ears. He shook his head in aggravation. Everything and everyone had gone according to the plan and yet…why did his men fail to catch that troublesome young woman again?

Four soldiers, stationed as guards outside of Naraku's chamber, cringed visibly beside him as a loud howl of pure wrath echoed down the dark corridor. They glanced at each other, eyes so wide with terror that the whites of their eyes gleamed brightly under the dim light.

'_What could have happened to the Rogue for him to be this furious?_' was the thought that resided within their corrupted and scared minds, their hands uneasily placed on the butts of their guns. '_And who will be punished this time?_'

Their thoughts were answered when a thunderous snarl yelled, "**_TAKKA!_**"

The said commander swallowed and licked his suddenly dry lips. Schooling his scared featured into a pleasant mask, he cautiously stepped into the chamber.

Once inside, he could not but help and stare at the state of mess the once-elegant chamber was in. All the large expensive windows were broken and priceless vases were smashed to bits, the broken glass littered the floor like sharp clear blades. The thick blood-red drapes were torn and bits of cloth were strewn about the room. What made him voluntarily step back was the bed that sat in the middle of the chaotic room.

The red silk bed was in complete tatters—as in—total ruin. The mattress was—well, actually—there _was_ _no_ mattress. Or should it be…what was _left_ of the mattress was nothing but bits of fabric and crushed feathers. As for the metal bedposts, they were cruelly bent and broken in half.

Takka refrained from shuddering. What kind of strength must the Rogue have to break these five inch thick metal posts? Suddenly, he felt dread flood throughout his body. Just what kind of a monster had he pledged with a Blood Oath his loyalty to? His question was answered when a menacing voice growled, "_You have failed me_."

The Rogue stepped out from the shadows and his red eyes glared at his commander. "_Did I not say that if you let the girl slip through your fingers, you would lose your life?_"

Takka nodded tightly and curtly responded. "Yes, sir."

The dark angry SEED circled around him like a predator circled its prey. "_And yet, even with the threat to your life, Kagome still slipped through your grasps._" He hissed and added venomously, "_Why?_"

The commander stared straight ahead. Before he could open his mouth, he found himself pinned against the wall by his throat.

"_When I ask you a question, I expect to be answered immediately. Now, let's try again. WHY!_"

Takka gasped for breath and managed a breathy "I-I do not know, sir."

Naraku applied even more pressure around his commander's throat and thrust his face into the other man's, his nose only a few millimetres away from touching Takka's own nose.

"_I should kill you now and get appoint Tye as commander_," he mused out loud as he gleefully watched Takka struggle for air. "_What do you think, Takka? Should I end your pitiful life now?_"

The other man wheezed and meekly replied, "P-please, sir. Just one more chance. This time, I-I won't fail y-you…"

The Rogue chose not to answer and sadistically watched happily as Takka's struggle for air weakened. Just before the man could pass out, he stepped back and unceremoniously dumped him on the littered shattered glass floor.

His red eyes narrowed and he hissed, "_Make no mistake, if you do not bring her to me in 48 hours, you will sleep the eternal sleep._" With that threat made, he turned on his heels and left the chamber. He needed to find an unlucky wench and do things that no normal male would ever think about…

ooo0ooo

The maid gently closed the door behind him and he resigned himself to wait. After ten minutes went by, he shook his head in annoyance and started for the closed door. What could be taking that maid so long?

He turned the doorknob and wordlessly stepped into the room in time to see the said maid gather bloody clothes from the floor and head towards him—or should he say—the open door behind him.

The maid stopped in front of him and curtsied low. "Milord, as ordered, she is dressed in a clean gown."

The Master nodded and waited until he heard the door close shut behind him before walking softly up to a king-sized bed. He gazed down at Kagome's face and noted with satisfaction that she was no longer as pale as she was half-an-hour ago. But… Something didn't seem right…

He leaned down, his silky silver hair falling over his shoulder and spilled on top of her chest as he placed two clawed fingers gently at her throat and felt for her pulse.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's brows snapped together in aggravation. He had been steadily feeding her his powers to help her own powers to heal her injuries, through the connection that he had with her, ever since he saw her wounded body back at the abandoned house for a couple of good hours and yet, here she was still unconscious and her pulse was weak.

The handsome SEED closed his sharp golden eyes and followed the blue strand connecting him to the young woman lying on the bed. He frowned. Her aura was dim, and getting weaker. Something must be draining her…but what? Then he saw a pink strand attached to her aura. He cocked his head to the side. Now, where could this strand be leading to?

Following the pink strand, he gently prodded the aura on the other end before pulling back in surprise. Kagome had been sending her much needed magic to her kit? Whatever for?

The Master prodded Shippou's aura again and then noticed that he was feeling safe and content. A moment please…The kit was feeling safe and content? Especially after seeing his own mother getting shot? Then he smiled and retreated back to his body. Of course. It all makes sense now.

Kagome was feeding to her son healing for his small weary body and sending her own calm aura and the love she feels for the kit with the connection that she had with the young boy as his—even though not blood-related—mother.

Sesshoumaru shook his head. But she could not afford to lose any more of her magic. If she does not get any more power, she will drain herself dry and her bullet wounds will worsen and she will die.

He snarled softly. There no way was he going to stand there and watch her leave the world of living. He will do everything in his power to make sure that she doesn't, even if she might hate him after she heals. After all, he had given to his word that Kagome would not die.

Without a second thought of what Kagome might do to him once she awakens, Sesshoumaru brushed aside her raven hair to reveal the right side of her neck. He opened his mouth, his fangs lengthening as he bit into her flesh and marked her as his.

At once, he was flooded with thoughts of Shippou and surprisingly, of him as well. He ignored Kagome's thoughts, storing it into a corner of his mind for later contemplation, and poured his aura into her injured body.

Following his flow of power in her, he mentally watched with deep satisfaction as flesh knitted together and the wounds healed to disappear without a mark.

Slowly pulling back, the handsome SEED licked his mark at the junction on the side of Kagome's neck. Satisfied that she was completely healed, he sat down on the side of the bed and waited for her to wake.

He did not have to wait long. A few minutes later, Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she gave a sleepy yawn.

"You are awake." It was more of a statement than a question.

Kagome turned her head and looked up into the gaze of golden eyes. "Fluffy? What are you doing here?"

The Master raised an elegant brow. "Do I not have the right to be in my own bedroom?"

"You're bedroom! Wha—?" she quickly sat up only to hunch over as the room spun in dizzy circles.

A firm hand gently pushed her back into the bed and she opened her eyes to see Sesshoumaru lean over her. "You're tired and have not yet recovered completely."

"Recovered—?" she stopped abruptly in her sentence as memories came flooding back. An abandoned house, Naraku's puppet, bullets, pain, and…SHIPPOU! She began to look around frantically. "Shippou! Where is he? Where's my son!"

"He is safe. Do not worry," the Master said. "The monk and his female companion are taking care of him. I will bring you to them after you have healed. Now, go to sleep."

Kagome frowned and patted down her body. "I was injured pretty badly. How did my wounds all disappear?"

There was no reply.

"No…you didn't…" she reached up and touched the side of her neck…and found a bite mark. She glared up at the silent SEED. "You marked me, didn't you?"

He nodded, his face void of all emotions as he braced himself for the expected outburst of rage.

To his immense surprise and relief, Kagome only sighed and said, "I guess you had no choice. I bet I was getting weaker and needed the boost. Although I'm not happy with this…I guess I owe you a thank-you."

To say that he was stunned was an understatement. Sesshoumaru watched with barely concealed shock as she looked at him and smiled. "Thank you, Fluffy."

He nodded and his eyes softened to molten gold as he felt something churn in his stomach and his heart began to beat faster. Unthinking, he leaned down and kissed her fully on her lips.

"You are welcome," he said against her soft lips. He pulled back suddenly, turned and left the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click.

Outside, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. What was that? What on earth had he just done? Why did he kiss her? He groaned and rubbed his temple with his thumbs, unaware that from his momentary shock, his barriers had dropped his confused thoughts were directed into the mind of someone located in his chamber.

Kagome touched her lips, stunned. And yet…she felt a sense of happiness bubbling within her. But…What was that? What on earth had he just done? Why did he kiss her? Wait. These thoughts didn't feel like hers…Kagome gasped and realized that these thoughts were actually coming from a particular SEED. She imagined a wall and blocked his thoughts from entering her mind, closing the mark between them two.

Then, she felt righteous indignation and anger flood through her. She sighed in relief. Good, these _non-confusing _emotions of hers she could deal with. She shoved aside the feeling of happiness about the kiss that she did _not_ want to think about and closed her blue-green eyes. Kagome drew a deep breath and then yelled at the top of her lungs:

"**THAT WAS MY FIRST KISS, DAMN YOU!**"

ooo0ooo

Yay! Like I promised, I finished this chapter over the weekend! Smile.

Well then, thank you very much for the reviews in chapter 7. It made me sing with joy! Thank you!

My life at school is getting a lot harder with homework and what not…so…if I don't get enough reviews…I won't update for a while…

However, I _can _and I _want_ to be persuaded in updating sooner, soooooo….please review and I might just do that.

Thanks!


	9. Resistance is Futile

**Previously…**

**_But…What was that? What on earth had he just done? Why did he kiss her? Wait. These thoughts didn't feel like hers…Kagome gasped and realized that these thoughts were actually coming from a particular SEED. She imagined a wall and blocked his thoughts from entering her mind, closing the mark between them two._**

_**Then, she felt righteous indignation and anger flood through her. She sighed in relief. Good, these non-confusing emotions of hers, she could deal with. She shoved aside the feeling of happiness about the kiss that she did not want to think about and closed her blue-green eyes. Kagome drew a deep breath and then yelled at the top of her lungs:**_

_**"THAT WAS MY FIRST KISS, DAMN YOU!"**_

ooo0ooo

**IX.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

"**THAT WAS MY FIRST KISS, DAMN YOU!**"

Sesshoumaru barely kept the wince from showing through his stoic mask as he inwardly cringed. What was wrong with her? One moment, she was all nice and smiling and then she was angry and yelling like a banshee. He shook his head in irritation, his sensitive ears still ringing painfully. Women…they are such strange creatures. Although he was an expert when it came to females,—he would never openly admit to this—Kagome was the only woman in this godforsaken world who scrambled his wits, leaving him utterly and disgracefully confused.

He sighed, turned, and headed down the hallway towards his office. Such matters can be examined more closely later, right now however, there were important contracts awaiting his attention.

ooo0ooo

"Up the J-Unit and have the incomplete K08H placed on the M-D. Load the K-5 section and have the 6th category marked."

"Right away, doctor!"

"You there! Have JLSD on the R-59 and upgrade the GP-Unit 59KC. Is that clear?"

"Yes, have JLSD on the R-59 and upgrade the GP-Unit 59KC."

"Good. Now, commence input of JLSD to K08H!"

"Roger that."

A metal arm gingerly inched forward, a small glass shard held securely in its three-fingered grasp.

"What is the M-D status?"

"Seventy-eight percent."

Not another sound was heard except for the soft whine of an engine as the arm moved closer and closer to a cracked incomplete glass jewel held delicately by another three-fingered metal arm located in the middle of the white room.

"R-59 status?"

"Ninety percent and increasing."

"Almost complete…" Doctor Hojo of the Genetic Research Facility bit his lower lip as he slowly pushed the lever up and watched intently as the glass shard neared the glass jewel.

"The GP-Unit 59KC is on green."

"Copy that." Gently, he pressed a button and bit by bit, lowered the glass shard.

"R-59 status now a hundred percent."

With a soft clink, the glass shard clicked into place and a bright blue light erupted from the center of the room. Scientists and doctors in the room alike threw up their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding light as yells and screams of shock echoed.

"What is the matter! Someone quickly upload the GPR-Shield!"

"Not possible! The K-5 section is jammed!"

Doctor Hojo swallowed and whispered, "May God help us all…"

The ground rumbled as the blue light swept in large waves from the center of the room and outwards. It was like a sonic boom as the light exploded, the earth rumbled loudly as if Mother Earth was protesting at the large release of energy, and people around the entire world began to scream in panic.

ooo0ooo

The Rogue stopped abruptly in his cruel ministrations to a poor girl and snarled as a wave of the blue light swept through his body. His red eyes gleamed brightly with anticipation as he recognized the blue energy and bolted from his bed, yelling for Takka.

The girl on the bed sat up gingerly. Looking down at her body, she noticed with awe that the bloody wounds that were supposed to be there was gone and not a single bruise could be found ever since that blue light had swept through her. She sobbed in gratefulness and relief and stumbled out of her master's bed, making her way to the open door with a bloodied sheet wrapped around her thin frame. She waddled out and went in search for clean clothes.

ooo0ooo

Kaede dropped the dish in her hand, ignoring the china plate as it shattered into millions of pieces on her kitchen floor. She clutched at her heart and glanced nervously around the room. This energy…this light…she recognized it with dawning dread…

In another room above the kitchen, Shippou stopped rolling his toy trucks on the carpet and clapped his hands in joy. "Mommy!" he cried happily, the grin was incongruous with the tense atmosphere in his room.

Beside the happy child, Sango and Miroku looked at each other over Shippou's head and shared a concerned and frightened look as the blue light wave swept through the house and away as they too, recognized the energy.

ooo0ooo

The Master looked up from his desk piled high with contracts and treaties. This energy…he knew this energy like the back of his stripe-marked hand. With a slight frown, he stood and swept out of his office. Turning sharply to the right, he came upon a young girl child and a little slimy toad throwing recriminations at each other—quite loudly—in fact, it was loud enough that his sensitive ears were starting to ring again.

"You did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"No, you did!"

"Silence."

That one word, filled with such frost, caused the bickering to stop immediately. He inwardly sighed in relief and looked down at his nose at the little toad. "Jaken, what have you done now?"

Jaken knelt instantly and bowed his head to the floor. "My lord, this child is accusing me of committing a horrendous act."

"Indeed. Then I suggest that you correct your mistake at once."

The little man sputtered. "But, my lord! I did not cause the young sorceress to collapse!"

"What?" the Master icily growled menacingly. "Where is she?"

"M-my lord, I swear, I did not—"

"Where is she!"

Jaken squawked and ducked his head. "I-in the garden, milord!" When he could gather the courage to look up again, Sesshoumaru was gone.

The striking SEED sped through the halls and swept out through the garden gates and headed straight for the fountain located deep in the garden.

He stepped through a small silver gate and was met with a sight that made him halt abruptly in his steps. Laying there on the short green grass was an unconscious young woman with her raven hair spread around her head like a pool of black curls.

Kagome looked like a luminary—someone who he, the Master Lord Sesshoumaru, was quickly becoming fond of. Yes, 'fond' was the word. He enjoined his mind to venture no further down the train of thought that would inevitably lead to another very different four-letter word starting with the letter 'l'.

He scoffed. He would never deign to such a low level and fall in love with a human. Although he cared for the girl, it did not mean that he was in love with her…right?

He sighed. Who was he kidding? He had never lied once in his life and never to himself, so why should he start now? Although unwillingly—even reluctantly—he will admit to himself the truth: Lord Sesshoumaru was in love with a human young woman by the name of Kagome.

He sighed again. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Leaning down, he scooped her up and carried her bridal style, walked over to the middle of the rose garden, and elegantly sat down on the edge of the splashing fountain with Kagome cradled gently in his lap.

Sesshoumaru gazed down at the precious bundle in his arms and softly brushed a black lock of hair from Kagome's face. Without a moment of hesitation, he dropped his barriers and his suppressed aura flared to life. He opened the two marks between them wide open and flooded his power into her, causing Kagome's own aura to flare bright blue in response.

The girl in the Master's arms gave a soft gasp as her body began glowing brighter and brighter. Just when the energy was almost too bright to bear, he eased his power flow and slowly closed the marks by bringing his barrier back into position.

The energy receded into Kagome's body and the couple in the center of the garden was no longer flaring with god-like light. Sesshoumaru sighed as his aura was replaced back into restraint and looked at the still unconscious human in his lap.

His golden eyes melted into molten as he traced her peaceful features: the long elegant face with smooth alabaster skin, the soft rosy cheeks, the small refined nose, the graceful brows, the closed eyes with long lashes—eyes that were striking blue-green when opened—, the silky raven hair framing her face, and last of all, her rosy full lips that looked soft…He could not but help stare at those beckoning lips.

Sesshoumaru leaned forward and…stopped abruptly. What was he doing? Just how low had his morals fallen to take advantage of Kagome when she was unconscious? He frowned. He had more honour than that!

'_But then,_' he mused to himself, '_I've already kissed her once and I've finally admitted to myself that I have fallen for this girl. Why not use my charms to seriously win her heart?_'

Oh sure, he had been flirting with her whenever he had encountered her but that was all just for fun. He arrogantly added to himself that watching women simper stupidly made him glad and thankful that he was a SEED and not an empty-minded human with wanton thoughts and needs. But…things have changed. With the realization that Kagome was what his heart has chosen, he will seriously need to use all his wits and try to seduce her and win her goddamn slippery heart.

Why 'slippery'? The Master gave a soft snort. He deliberately used the word 'slippery' since that was the exact word that described the young woman's heart in his arms. Kagome—he could _almost_ swear his life on—was immune to his slick and smooth charms. He frowned. Here he was with uncountable women vying for his attention and he was trying to win over a human girl who he was not even sure wanted anything to do with him.

The Master and Lord Sesshoumaru sighed and thought to himself once again, '_Oh how the mighty have fallen_.' He glanced back down at his lap. '_Just one…it's not like I hadn't kissed her before…just one…_'

His silky silver hair fluttered over his shoulder and gently caressed Kagome's cheek as he slowly leaned down...

ooo0ooo

Kagome felt a burst of warm light within her and released a small gasp. A moment later, her mind became wide awake and the fatigue and exhaustion vanished from her body without a trace left behind.

She inwardly sighed and…wait…something silky—something soft—was touching her cheek. What…? She opened her eyes and was momentarily struck dumb by the sight that greeted her.

A god was leaning over her and was lowering his face closer and closer to her own! Hold on a minute…a god? That's no god!—although he definitely looked like one—what the hell was Sesshoumaru doing!

Kagome gave an "eep!"—and boy! She really hated it when she makes that stupid girly sound but she sometimes she just couldn't help it! Stupid damn feminine genes!—and pushed herself away from the Master.

"What the fuck are you doing, Fluffy!"

Caught by surprise—though it did not show on his stoic face—, Sesshoumaru released the struggling girl from his clasp. Kagome placed both her hands on his firm chest and with a sneer gave him a shove backwards.

To her surprise, Sesshoumaru actually fell back—although she would never know that he had deliberately allowed her to cause him to lose his balance—and landed in the fountain with a loud splash.

Kagome smirked. Really…how the mighty have fallen…There he was…the Master Lord Sesshoumaru sitting in a fountain, soaking wet…She smiled then grinned. A few seconds later, a snort escaped from her. A cough, a giggle, a chuckle, and finally, she could no longer hold it in and opened her mouth to release a full-out laugh.

The Master sat up as droplets of water, sparkling like bright diamonds, dripped down his face. He raised a hand and flicked strands of wet shimmering hair behind his shoulder. Then he stood, causing the water to run down his body like a waterfall.

Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat. God…with his clothes clinging to his body and clearly showing off the chiselled chest, the strong arms, and dripping wet….Sesshoumaru was a glorious sight to behold. She gulped and tried to control her rapidly beating heart.

'_Damn it!_' she cursed mentally, '_Why the fucking hell does he have to look so damn hot!_'

The Master could barely keep the smirk off his face as her arousal scented the air. So…she finds his body pleasing to the eye, eh?...Stepping out of the fountain, he sauntered slowly towards her.

"You dare to laugh at me?" he purred and stalked closer towards her.

The blue-green eyed young woman gulped and voluntarily took a step back. "Stay away, you fucking pervert!"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "Pardon?"

Kagome forced herself to stand her ground and slowly, anger seeped into her. She almost sighed with relief. Anger was something she was good at handling, better than handling a sexy god. She shook her head and shoved that thought out of her head. Now was not the time to think of such matter. At the moment, her reputation could be at stake if she did not strike back.

"Take one more step and I will purify you to oblivion, Fluffy."

The Master paused in his steps. "Speaking of purifying, why didn't you create a shield at the abandoned house to protect yourself and the kit?"

"A shield—"

_Fuck_. Kagome's eyes widened at the realization. Why didn't she think of that earlier? If she had thought of using her powers, Shippou would have never been a target for bullets and she would not have been shot and she would not have this goddamn fucking mark at the side of her neck! She began to growl deep in her throat. Damn it! She had let her rage control her, completely forgetting about her magic and thus, had placed her child in danger! She was such a dumbass!

Sesshoumaru watched the emotions flitter across her face and shot her a derisive smile. "My my, did Kagome forget all about her holy magic?"

She scowled. "Shut up, you piece of fluff. At least _I _wasn't the one who was sitting in the fountain _soaked to the bone_."

"That can be easily remedied."

"No. Back off! Get away from me!"

The SEED ignored the protesting girl and slung her abruptly over his shoulder.

Kagome began swearing colourfully. "Fuck you to hell, Sesshoumaru! Let go of me! Let GO!"

His reply contained three simple words: "Resistance is futile."

The raven haired girl gave one last scream of rage before she was dumped unceremoniously into the cold—_fucking_ _cold_—water with a loud splash.

ooo0ooo

Takka rubbed his red neck for the millionth time. This was his last chance to catch that girl. If he failed, he was a dead man. He sighed before straightening and frowned in determination. He will see this through, his life depends on it!

"I'm sorry, sir, but entry from here is prohibited."

He looked up and glowered. "What?"

"I'm sorry," the guard repeated, "but entry from here is prohibited."

Takka slipped a hand into his shirt pocket but froze as the guard whipped out a gun and pointed it steadily at him.

"Take your hand away from your shirt."

Takka slowly withdrew his hand and raised his arms into the air. "Calm down. I'm just reaching for my ID."

The guard shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Now back up against the wall."

He sighed and complied. The guard pressed the gun to the back of his neck and with the other hand, reached into his shirt pocket. A moment later, the guard stood back and put up the gun.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Gary. I didn't know it was you."

Takka hid a grin and nodded solemnly. "It's alright. You were just doing your job."

The guard holstered his gun and laid his hand on the scanner. Seconds later, the metal door slid open and he nodded to Takka. "Forgive me, sir."

Takka shook his head and forced a smile that he hoped looked reassuring instead of predatory. "Do not fret. All is forgiven."

The guard nodded once more before the door slid shut behind him. Takka finally released the grin that he was withholding and punched the air in victory. The fake ID worked like a charm. He nodded at another guard and stepped into the elevator. He pressed the blue button and watched the numbers tick down as he descended underground.

Now, it was time to put Phase Two into action.

ooo0ooo

Kagome was still swearing colourfully underneath her breath as she sped down the highway to Elantris, or more specifically, the Genetic Research Facility.

"Who the hell does he think he is? Throwing me into the water…" she muttered angrily, "Fluffy is such an insolence. That bastard, if I catch a cold, I swear I will purify his ass off."

Back in Uplands, the SEED occupying Kagome's raging thoughts at the moment was recalling the answer to his question Kagome had answered before she had left.

:Flashback:

"Kagome, why did you release such a large amount of energy that caused you to faint?"

Kagome scowled and bit into a steaming bun. "I did not faint. I was just tired and sleeping, that's all."

He gave her a look. "Kagome."

She sighed. "Fine. But what I'm going to tell you now must be kept confidential, alright?"

He gave her another look.

Kagome cringed and then shook her head. "Alright, keep your pants on Fluffy. The energy blast was created when the K08H was completed."

"Do you mean to tell me that the jewel was a success?"

Kagome nodded, her face joyful and eager. "That's right! The cure for Malady has finally been found!"

"How is the cure connected to your power?" the Master persisted.

She sighed. "You sure you want to hear it?"

Again, he shot her another look that clearly said 'Shut up and get on with it.'

"It's like this. Mother Nature, a.k.a. Earth, is aligned to the Heavens and heals those in need, and since my powers are also aligned to the Heavens, I connected myself to the jewel to insure its healing powers."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his amber eyes. "You mean the power contained in the jewel is a portion of your own power?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes."

"And if someone like Naraku gets a hold on it and taints it, you will suffer for it."

She froze and blanched.

The Master sighed. "I knew it. You never thought about that did you?"

She unfroze and quickly stood. "Shit. I have to get to the lab now!"

"Indeed."

Kagome whirled around and glared at him. "You are staying here."

"I think not."

"You are proscribed from entering the facility of GRF. You know that."

"Hn."

She raced out of the dining room and waved over her shoulder. "I'll purify you later for throwing me into the fountain! Bye!"

:End Flashback:

Sesshoumaru threw on his trench coat, strode out of the bathroom, and grabbed another pair of keys to his BMW. The Jaguar will be recognized by Kagome if she sees it trailing after her so he was taking his BMW instead.

"_You are proscribed from entering the facility of GRF…_" the words echoed in his mind. He scoffed. As if he would sit here like a duck. He was going to go after her, even if it meant getting his ass purified later.

He leapt into the sleek red BMW and revved up the engine. He glanced at himself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. With his markings hidden by a mask, his long hair dyed to a light brown and braided, his disguise will throw even Naraku off course if accosted. He tightened the mental barriers around himself and his aura as he shot out of his large garage. Can't have Kagome sensing him coming, can he?

ooo0ooo

Takka confronted a young man with short black hair and greeted him with a smile. "Good day…"—he glanced at the tag on the young man's white coat and continued— "Doctor Hojo."

Hojo turned around and cocked his head to the side. "Hello. I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Gary. Can you please direct me to the person in charge here?"  
Hojo smiled. "The Chief is not here at the moment so I am the one in charge. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Gary."

"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled, "I'm the president of the Medical Research of the United States of America. We got the message that the cure for Malady has been found?"

The other man nodded. "Ah yes. Please follow me. We've been expecting you."

Takka mentally grinned. '_I bet you were…_'

ooo0ooo

Upstairs, on the main floor, a middle-aged man was harshly commanded to halt. He looked up, confused. "Is something the matter, security?"

The guard narrowed his eyes, holding the brown-haired man at gun-point. "Don't play games, bucko, and give me that fake ID of yours."

The man frowned. "Excuse me? In case you didn't hear me the first time, I'm the president of the Medical Research of the United States of America. I was informed that the cure for Malady has been found and came here as invited!"

The guard sneered. "Don't lie. The president of the MR-USA is already here. You're an impostor. Now back up against the wall with your hands in the air."

"But I'm truly Doctor Gary!"

The guard sniggered and took out handcuffs from his belt. "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Victoria, back from the dead."

ooo0ooo

I'm sorry it took such a long time but…well, here you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! From here on, the story will be picking up its pace. Hope to see you in the next chapter!

Please review!


	10. Stupid people with their stupid guns!

**Previously…**

_**Upstairs, on the main floor, a middle-aged man was harshly commanded to halt. He looked up, confused. "Is something the matter, security?"**_

_**The guard narrowed his eyes, holding the brown-haired man at gun-point. "Don't play games, bucko, and give me that fake ID of yours."**_

_**The man frowned. "Excuse me? In case you didn't hear me the first time, I'm the president of the Medical Research of the United States of America. I was informed that the cure for Malady has been found and came here as invited!"**_

_**The guard sneered. "Don't lie. The president of the MR-USA is already here. You're an impostor. Now back up against the wall with your hands in the air."**_

_**"But I'm truly Doctor Gary!"**_

_**The guard sniggered and took out handcuffs from his belt. "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Victoria, back from the dead."**_

ooo0ooo

**X.**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Kikyou pouted, her lower lip sticking out in what she thought was an adorable look as she sat up from the bed and watched him pull on his pants.

"Do you really have to go, Inu-pie?" she whined in her high squeaky voice that sounded like nails scratching a blackboard.

The black-haired man looked up from zipping up his pants and lust was visible in his eyes as he replied huskily, "Chief wants me at her office. It seems that the cure for Malady has been found and she needs to tighten the security around the facility. If I'm not there on time, she's gonna fry me and toss me to the sharks."

"She can't do that! She's just a little girl!"

Inuyasha snorted. "Kiki, she's _the_ _Chief_—as in—at the top? Besides, she's only three years younger than us. She's turning twenty-four in one more week and there's gonna be a party thrown in her honour."

"Her birthday's on the eighth of July?"

"'Fraid so, Kiki."

"You mean to tell me that the ugly brat has the same birthday as me?!" Kikyou scowled and sulked.

Her lover smirked and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Come now, Kiki. Don't tell me that you're jealous of the skinny brat, now are you?"

"Of course not!" she pouted, insulted.

Inuyasha smiled. "That's my girl. Why be jealous of her when you are more beautiful?"

Kikyou nodded knowingly in reply. "Yes, I am a gorgeous woman."

The black-haired man grinned. "That you are."

A few minutes later, the young woman watched from the window up on the 7th floor of the five-star hotel as her lover climbed into his red sports car. She followed with her eyes as he pulled out of the parking lot and raced down Douglas Street. Turning around, she closed the thick blue curtains and made her way across the room to the phone.

"What."

Kikyou smiled into the receiver. "Polite as usual."

"Shut up, bitch. What do you have for me?"

"K08H has been completed and Kagome's tightening the security around the facility—"

"This is old news, Kikyou."

The said female scowled. "Shut up. I wasn't done."

"Do not test my patience."

"Screw you. Do you know when her birthday is?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Kikyou smirked. "I thought so. And yet, here you are, a stalker who does not even know when his prey's birth date is. How lame."

"You are treading on dangerous grounds."

The young woman grimaced and shook her head. "Alright. There's gonna be a party on the eighth of July thrown in her honour…"

"Your point is?"

"Why don't you use this opportunity when she has her guard down, to not only trash her party, but to also abduct her at the same time? You might as well kill some people while you're at it for fun."

Nothing was heard for a moment and then a dark chuckle sounded and sent shivers of morbid delight down Kikyou's spine.

"You're a nasty little bitch, aren't you, you little slut?"

Kikyou batted her eyes and grinned into the phone. "Only for you, baby."

"Alright then, you'll get your reward tomorrow. Right now, I have some business to attend to."

"The stealing of K08H, I presume?"

"It's called 'bait', my dear whore."

She smiled slyly. "Ah, of course. Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, baby."

"Don't try anything, Kikyou. Or it will be your life."

"Of course not, I wouldn't do such a thing. Until then, bye."

The other person on the other end of the phone did not even bother saying good-bye and hung up. Kikyou pouted. "Mou, he's rude."

Then, she looked up and glanced at the clock just as it struck eight p.m. She grinned. "Too bad I already dispatched them a long while ago. I'm sorry, Naraku baby, but your dear Kagome is going to die tonight."

ooo0ooo

It was serene and beautiful outside. The setting sun painted the sky bright vivid colours of pink, orange, and yellow as the moon peeked out from the other side of the horizon. And the birds were settling down for their rest as predators of the night opened their eyes and awaken to the beginnings of a starry night.

One would say that on such a wonderful and beautiful evening, nothing could possibly be wrong in this world. But if one could feel—more like 'see' actually—the rancour the young woman's aura projected, one would blanch and quail in fear and one's view of life would dim and flicker like a dying candle light. For, at last, the Goddess of War had descended upon the world of Mortals and was about to wreak havoc on those who dare to fire bullets at Sesshoumaru's Mercedes Benz that she had 'borrowed' without permission and whose owner would probably kill her once he saw the condition it was in—which was bullet holes everywhere.

Kagome swore under her breath as she set the vehicle into auto-drive with the course to her destination locked on and with voice command turned on for her use at will.

She scowled as she unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled to the backseats. Muttering incoherently about "stupid people with their stupid guns, stupidly shooting at stupid Fluffy's stupid car…" she took out her trusty Exo 6.0 and opened a special window made especially for these kinds of occasions.

Taking an aim, she opened fire and nodded in satisfaction as the sound of screeching tires and then a loud crash was heard. There. One down. Five more to go.

Suddenly, she ducked and yelled, "Right lane!" At once, the ever faithful car veered to the right and succeeded in avoiding acquiring more holes from the incoming bullets.

Glowering, Kagome dropped her empty gun and reached down to pull her Matrix 4.0 from the side of her right calf. Really. She didn't want to use her new toy yet. She had wanted to test it out on the Rogue but these stupid assassins—at least, that's what she thought they were since they had been trailing after her for quite some time now and were now currently shooting ammos at her and the precious car—had left her with no other choice but to bring it out and use it on their goddamn fucking annoying asses.

Pressing on the trigger two times straight, Kagome gave herself a congratulating pat on the back. Nice going girl. Taking two cars out at the same time…Smooth move.

She turned her attention to the remaining three black cars and glared maliciously at them. Jeez. They never give up do they? Wait. What is that man holding up…? No…It can't—it can't be what she's thinking it is…Don't tell her it's a…Oh shit!

"Sharp swerve to the left 90 degrees to Exit 10!" she screamed. "Accelerate to 150 km/h!"

The Mercedes Benz revved up the engine, made a sharp turn to the left, and shot like a silver bullet off the highway and onto Exit 10 as its passenger watched, dumbfounded, at the grenade that was flung into the air. What the fuck did those sons of bitches think they were doing throwing a fucking grenade on a fucking busy highway?! Were they fucking outta their minds?!

With lightning speed, she made up her mind and shot the last bullet in her possession at the still airborne grenade. Her bullet collided with the green container of destruction and an explosion erupted up in the sky. Kagome sighed in relief. Lord Saviour Jesus Christ! If she had missed with that last bullet, that grenade would have blown up the highway! Not to mention innocent bystanders as well.

She frowned. Now she had a new problem on her hands. She didn't have any more ammo on her. She had left everything in her silver mustang convertible…—speaking of which, where _was_ her car? She would have to ask Fluffy the next time she sees him...

Then, an evil smile spread itself slowly across her face. These bastards were going to pay for putting citizens under her protection in danger. They will regret dearly for playing with fire, for this particular fire was going to burn them bad. It was time to play dirty and that meant bringing her magic into play.

Releasing her magical restraint, her blue aura flared to life. Probing none too gently at the assassins' auras, she growled as she recognized the taint in them. It seems that the Rogue had given up on her to take her as his mate and was simply trying to kill her and to remove her permanently from the face of the world.

Not that she minded being off his list as a potential mate—hell no, of course not! To say that she was happy about this new information would be a great understatement. However, she _did_ mind having people trying to murder her. Ah well. Who's to say that life was fair? It was just too bad for Naraku that it wasn't she that was going to be purified to oblivion.

Still smiling that lethal smile, Kagome reached out a hand and blue light erupted from her outstretched palm. Straight and true, the light lashed through the air like an arrow and engulfed a black car. Screams were heard as the occupants of that unfortunate car were purified and were sent to the world of the dead.

Now, for the last two offensive speeding objects…the raven-haired girl shook her head and 'tsk'ed. Really, speeding in the face of the Chief Officer…They have the guts, she admitted it, but that did not mean that they have the brains either.

Seeing a bridge up ahead, Kagome conjured up a brilliant plan. "Decelerate to 90 km/h and change to the right lane." The loyal car obeyed and slowed down. Its passenger watched as one of the two black cars sped up and neared the Mercedes Benz.

"Come on…come on…" she said as she waited with baited breath. Suddenly, she yelled, "Accelerate 150 km/h!"

The Mercedes Benz sprang to life and roared down the street, the closest black car going full throttle to catch up.

Kagome grinned. '_That's it. Come to Mama._'

Just as Fluffy's car was about to hit the side of the bridge, she shouted, "Sharp 90 degrees right!" The Mercedes Benz swerved as commanded and sped down McKenzie Street just as the speeding black car careened over the bridge and into the river below.

Kagome punched the air in victory. "Yes!" Abruptly, a bullet hit the back of the car causing her to squeak in surprise.

"Damn it! I forgot about the last one!" But what could she do? She was completely out of ammo! She snarled in frustration. First the mark from Fluffy and now this? By all that was holy and unholy, why must Fate be so cruel to her? Just what god had she offended?

A screech of tires pulled her rudely from her dark brooding and she watched with her mouth open as a red BMW forced the remaining black car down a deep trench on the side of the road. Rubbing her eyes in disbelief, she stared at the driver.

It was a male. Young or old, she could not tell with that mask covering his features. He had long braided light brown hair, but what drew her the most and stirred something within her mind were those dark eyes flecked with gold. They reminded her of a particular SEED that she had just left behind…She shook her head. Nah. It wasn't possible. Sesshoumaru had amber eyes; he didn't have green eyes flecked with gold. So it can't be him. But to be absolutely certain, she probed at this stranger's aura…and found an ordinary human aura.

Kagome sighed in relief. Good. Fluffy was still home as she had commanded and this stranger was just another human who had decided on lending a helping hand to a fellow human. She smiled and waved in thanks. The masked man nodded in reply and turned his car onto Shelbourne Street.

Kagome crawled back onto the front seat and buckled herself in. Turning off the auto-drive and voice command, she took control of the Mercedes Benz again and peacefully made the rest of her eventful journey to the Genetic Research Facility.

ooo0ooo

"This is the lab where the completion of K08H was completed," Doctor Hojo explained. "We do not know the exact details as of yet why the K-5 section was jammed and unable the uploading of the GPR-Shield, but as you can see," he gesticulated at the working scientists around the lab, "we are doing the best that we can to find the solution to this unexpected variable that was added to the complicated equation."

'_You idiot! Can't you see that I do not care about all this crap? Just take me to that damn jewel!_' Takka forced a smile. "Excellent. Now, I'm sorry to say but time is short and I would like to see this K08H before I leave to report to the president of USA."

The other man nodded, slightly abashed with a light blush on his cheeks. "Of course. Forgive me. Please, come this way."

Both of the men walked down a brightly lit corridor, nodding in greeting to passing scientists. Hojo halted in front of a metal door and stepped forward to wait patiently as a green ray of light scanned him from head to toe. Then, he held out a finger, wincing slightly as a needle quickly jabbed him and drew a drop of blood.

"Verification recognized. Please proceed," a female monotone computer voice stated. Hojo glanced at the man behind him before stepping through the metal door and into a chamber with its precious treasure encased in a small glass globe in the middle of the room.

Takka struggled to conceal the awe that threatened to peak through his pleasant and friendly mask as he gazed upon the jewel displayed in the centre of the chamber.

Without his permission, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Takka, commander of the Rogue, was completely captivated by the beauty set in front of him.

ooo0ooo

Kikyou frowned, her fingers drumming on the table as she glanced at the clock once more. They were way past late.

She cocked her head to the side. Did they fail in their job? She shook her head. It couldn't be that hard to kill that brat could it? Or…Her brown eyes widened. Could Kagome have sensed their malevolent aura from being in contact with her and got away?

Kikyou bit her lower lip and her brows furrowed even more in concentration. If that bitch did sense the taint in those hired assassins' aura, she would think that they were sent by Naraku.

"Damn!" she swore softly to herself. "I knew I shouldn't have slept with Naraku before I hired those men. Now if Naraku finds out that Kagome was almost murdered, he would know instantly it would have been me who tried to kill her." Scowling, she rose and went into her room.

She plopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. If Naraku found out that she had tried to kill his wanted mate-to-be, he would kill her in the most gruesome way possible. She shuddered. And make no mistake, the Rogue was _very_ creative when it comes to torture.

Kikyou grimaced. Now, what can she do if the Rogue found out…? She smiled. Ah, she was such a genius. She'll just frame someone else…but how? Hmm…She shrugged. Oh well. She'll figure it out by tomorrow, and if she sees Naraku before then, well…screw it. She'll just wing it and hope she's alive afterwards.

ooo0ooo

Kagome stepped into her office and started when she saw the man seated in the room with Kouga standing guard behind him.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Kouga looked up and broke into a grin. "My woman—!" He was cut off abruptly when his feet were suddenly swept from underneath him and his bottom became painfully acquainted with the marble floor.

He hissed. "What the hell was that for?!" he demanded and rubbed his sore derrière.

His Chief narrowed her eyes and replied, "One, for never showing up when I called for backup two days ago and make no mistake, I will deal with you about that later. And two, for calling me your woman when I have made it perfectly clear to you that I am not interested in you in that way."

"But you are interested me aren't you?" he cockily inquired.

Kagome growled. "You wish. And if you say anything more, your ass will be kissing the ground again."

Kouga winced. "Yes, ma'am."

Satisfied, the raven-haired young woman turned and faced a middle-aged man seated in a chair in front of her. "Good evening, Dr. Gary. It's been a while."

The man stood and shook her hand. "It has. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise."

Kouga stood there, gaping. "You mean," he pointed rudely at the middle-aged man and exclaimed, "_he's_ Dr. Gary?!"

Kagome turned and faced him. "What do you mean?"

Dr. Gary spoke up, "This young man believes that I'm an impostor. He insisted that the real 'Dr. Gary' is already here."

Kagome frowned. "Now, Kouga, why would you think that? I know that this man here is the real Dr. Gary—I've met him before—but…what gave you the idea that he wasn't?" She turned back to Dr. Gary and asked, "Did you show your ID to Kouga?"

The president of MR-USA nodded in reply.

"But there was a man with dark curly black hair who arrived before him and gave me an ID that stated _he_ was Dr. Gary," Kouga insisted.

Both his Chief and the president paled visibly, their eyes widening as the pieces clicked into place.

ooo0ooo

The jewel—the cure to the plague Malady—sat in the middle of the room, sparkling and shining like a blue pearl. It was an eminent sight to behold.

Hojo glanced at the man beside him and swallowed a laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face. Clearing his throat, he smiled and spoke, "As you can see, this jewel here is the cure for Malady. It has the power to heal victims of the plague thanks to Chief Higurashi."

Takka mentally inserted himself back into reality. "Chief Higurashi?"

"Yes," Hojo gestured towards the completed K08H and replied, "Kagome Higurashi has aligned her magic with this jewel to ensure its healing powers."

"And how does this actually heal the victims of Malady?"

Dr. Hojo grinned. "If one who has the disease were to only touch it, they will be cured. Such as it is with Chief's amazing powers."

"And why did it take such a long time to find a cure if the Chief has such 'amazing' powers?" Takka inquired with a raised brow.

"The Chief does not have unquenchable healing power and if she was to heal all those who have fallen under the black spell of Malady, she would die from exhaustion," the other man answered. "It took a while for us to find the exact materials that can act as a focus for the Chief. If used by the Chief, this jewel can draw power from Mother Nature and the Heavens, and thus, she would not have to use as much of her own magic if she was without the jewel."

"Do you mean to tell me that this jewel holds a link to Higurashi's power?" Takka asked and mentally crossed his fingers.

Dr. Hojo unintentionally handed him the key to a part of Kagome when he replied, "Yes."

Takka refrained with great difficulty to jump into the air and shout with joy. Forcing a strained smile, he asked in his most polite and friendliest voice, "May I see the jewel up close?"

The other man practically handed him the trophy when he said, "Of course."

Takka moved to the centre of the chamber and stepped onto the platform. Reaching out a hand, he stopped abruptly when Dr. Hojo suddenly spoke in a sharp tone, "Don't touch it!"

Surprised, Takka automatically pulled away as enjoined and turned to look quizzically at him.

Hojo smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you that no one was to touch the jewel without the Chief's permission."

"Oh?"

"It's her orders and under no circumstances am I to break it."

Takka smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. As president of the MR-USA, I will handle it most carefully and professionally."

"But—."

Takka fixed his sharp eyes intently on the other man. Hojo sighed. "Alright, as long as the fact that I let you touch it does not leave this room."

"Of course not."

Reaching forward again, Takka swallowed. He could almost taste the victory…

"_Step away from that jewel!_"

He whirled around and smirked at the sight before him. Ah, _she_ has finally arrived.

Kagome growled and narrowed her blue-green eyes at the man standing on the platform at the centre of the chamber. "_This is your last warning. Step away from there!_"

Takka snickered. "Really, is this the way to treat the president?"

The young woman frowned. "Don't play cute with me. Get off that platform!"

He sighed. "I will," —his hand whipped out and swiped the jewel off its resting place— "but only when I have this in my possession."

Kagome doubled over the moment his flesh made contact with the jewel and the taint within his aura seeped slowly into the pure jewel. Gasping, she glowered at the smirking man and managed to grit out, "You…Naraku sent you, didn't he?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, I guess the game's up."

"Release that jewel at once!" Kouga growled angrily, his hand on the butt of his gun.

"Or what?"

Kouga whipped out his gun and pointed it steadily at Takka. "Or I'll blow your brain out." Suddenly, he gave a small squawk when the point of his gun was abruptly sliced off.

Takka placed his daggers back into their places and glanced at him. "Too bad my speed is a lot faster than yours."

Unexpectedly, the jewel was slapped away from his hands. He looked up and swore when he caught sight of a towering figure standing behind the crouching Kagome.

The masked newcomer spoke in a voice that was all too familiar to Kagome. "But you are not as fast as I."

Kagome whirled around and pointed an accusing finger. "_You_! So you _were_ the one driving that red BMW! How'd the hell did you get in here?!"

Sesshoumaru took off his mask and glanced at the angry female in front of him. "Do not waste your breath in questioning me. You have a more important issue on your hands."

She snapped her mouth closed, sent him a lethal glare that promised pain and turned to glower at the man who had tried to take the jewel.

"What does Naraku want?" she asked bluntly, inching slowly towards the fallen jewel.

Takka smiled. "Why, you of course, my lady. The Rogue still desires you for a mate."

Kagome scowled and sidled closer to the sparkling K08H. "Yeah, and that's why there were assassins chasing after me earlier."

He cocked his head to the side. "Why do you think they were sent by Naraku?"

"By the taint in their aura, you moron."

Takka narrowed his eyes. "Watch your mouth, young lady."

"Shut up." With the pleasantries said, she lunged for the jewel. Suddenly, bright silver flashed and with a loud explosion of pure blue light, the jewel was sliced into two.

The occupants of the chamber were thrown clear and slammed solidly against the metal walls. Kagome groaned and sat up, her hand rubbing her aching back.

Abruptly, she swore and tore out of the room.

ooo0ooo

Sesshoumaru flew down the corridor in a blur. He whipped out a hand and pushed the man with half of the jewel within his palm against the wall by his throat.

"Give back what is not yours," he growled in an icy voice, "and I will kill you quickly."

Takka grinned, his amused expression incongruous with the Master's frosty blank face. "No," he sneered and in a black flash of light, disappeared with a small 'pop'.

The Master's golden eyes tinted with red narrowed into dangerous slits. "That bastard," he cursed under his breath.

"He got away didn't he?" Kagome panted and screeched to a halt beside Sesshoumaru. "I should have sensed that spell of transportation hidden up that man's sleeve," she added with an angry mutter.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the young woman and silently held out a clawed hand. Curious, Kagome looked up and peered into his offered open palm and gave an elementary school-girl scream of delight.

Without a second thought, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into the crook of his neck with a repetitious phrase pouring out of her lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Master took this rare opportunity to wrap his arms around her slim waist. "You are welcome." Inwardly, he smirked. If by saving half of the jewel can get Kagome to throw herself at him, imagine what the girl in his arms would do if he retrieved the other half. He closed his eyes and shoved that particular door shut and locked it with a definite click. Nah-ah, do not venture any further down that dirty minded path.

He sighed lightly. Yes, for one must remain of pure mind if one was to keep oneself from being purified and called a hentai by a particular raven-haired sorceress.

ooo0ooo

"Excellent work, Takka," Naraku purred as he gazed at the glittering jewel sitting on the palm of his hand.

His commander bowed. "Thank you, sir."

"But…," the Rogue continued and his voice deepened into a low dangerous growl, "_why did you bring only **half** of the jewel? You stupid son of a bitch! I specifically verified that I wanted the whole K08H, not a broken piece of a sparkling pebble!_"

Takka gulped nervously. "Ah well, that is—"

"_You have failed me_." Claws flashed and ripped causing a bright red liquid to stain the floor. Naraku glanced dispassionately down at the beheaded corpse of his late commander and licked the blood running down his clawed hand.

"_Stupid humans. They can never do anything right._"

ooo0ooo

Drum roll please! Ahem…

Ho! Lo and behold! The tenth chapter is finished! I apologize for the delay but homework is piling up on me…Ah, well, 'tis the life of a student, eh?

Please review!

O! And before I forget, I would like to announce that another Sess/Kag fanfic will be coming up soon. This time, it will be set in the feudal era. It is called:

**Obsidian Butterfly**

**By: Kei Taiho**

Someone has been stealing gold for the poor and the people of the feudal era are naming this unknown hero the Obsidian Butterfly. One who flutters through the fingers of one's pursuers like a butterfly and protects those in danger with a sword that flashes obsidian in the moonlight. The Taiyoukai of the West is not pleased that his father's sword, Tenseiga, has been stolen by this so-called Obsidian Butterfly and will stop at nothing to retrieve his rightful possession and yet, why do all the clues to finding this thief lead to his half-brother's wench? Just who is really underneath that meek and gentle face of hers?


End file.
